ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Products: Biofuels

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of volumes of tallow disposals following the planned introduction of banding in the renewables obligation in 2009;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the volume of tallow disposed of in landfill over the last three years;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the likely costs to industry of converting tallow into biodiesel; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what studies his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the environmental and sustainability impact of converting tallow into biodiesel.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 18 October 2007
	No estimates have been made by DEFRA of any changes to tallow disposals following the planned introduction of banding in the renewables obligation in 2009.
	Data on the total volume of tallow disposed of in landfill are not held by DEFRA or the Environment Agency. However, the various regulatory restrictions, and the high value of tallow for further uses, for example in the oleochemicals industry, means that its disposal to landfill is likely to be rare.
	No estimates have been made by DEFRA of the likely costs to industry of converting tallow into biodiesel.
	DEFRA has not commissioned any evaluation of the sustainability impact of converting tallow into biodiesel.
	The Government announced on 21 June 2007 that they aim to reward biofuels under the renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) in accordance with the carbon savings they offer from 2010, provided that this is compatible with World Trade Organisation rules and EU technical standards requirements. This must also be consistent with the policy framework being developed by the European Commission as part of the review of the biofuels directive, and subject to consultation on the potential environmental and economic impacts of such a scheme.
	The Government also announced that from 2011, they aim to reward biofuels under the RTFO only if the feedstocks from which they are produced meet appropriate sustainability standards, again subject to the provisos set out above. The RTFO draft Order provides for an 'Administrator' of the scheme, which will be a new non-departmental public body. It will have the power to require information from suppliers about the biofuel supplied and feedstocks used. The Government will ask the Administrator to report regularly on the impact on other sectors, and will consider carefully, in the light of these reports, whether any corrective action is necessary.

Animal Products: Waste Disposal

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of tallow has been disposed of in landfill over the last three years; and what arrangements for the disposal of tallow will be made following the planned introduction of the renewable transport fuel obligation in 2008.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 16 October 2007
	Data on the total volume of tallow disposed of in landfill are not held by DEFRA or the Environment Agency.
	Under the Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) 1774/2002 (ABPR), tallow can only be landfilled if the animal by-products from which it has been derived have undergone the relevant level of processing (rendering).
	Regulatory restrictions and the high value of tallow for further uses mean that its disposal in landfill is likely to be rare.
	The disposal of tallow must comply with the relevant regulatory requirements, including the ABPR, waste management legislation and, where appropriate, the waste incineration directive. No other arrangements for the recovery or disposal of tallow are planned by my Department to coincide with the renewable transport fuel obligation's requirements.

Carbon Emissions: Departmental Co-ordination

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to co-ordinate efforts across Government to reduce the Government's carbon footprint.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA provides the secretariat for the cross-departmental sustainable procurement and operations board which has been set up to drive delivery of the sustainable procurement and operations targets on the Government estate. These targets include action on carbon reduction and energy efficiency.
	DEFRA funds the Carbon Trust to provide advice on carbon management and financial support, through Salix Finance, including advice to Departments. Both organisations are expected to benefit under the Environmental Transformation Fund.
	DEFRA leads an 'Act on CO2' communications campaign across Government Departments to encourage individuals to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, both at work and at home.

Domestic Wastes: Waste Disposal

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the research, including opinion research and polling, which his Department has  (a) undertaken in-house and  (b) commissioned from external sources in relation to charging for the collection of household rubbish.

Joan Ruddock: (a) No research has been undertaken in-house.
	 (b) DEFRA commissioned the following research:
	The 2007 Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours toward the Environment, undertaken by the British Market Research Bureau, which included a section on "attitudes to recycling" and sought views on whether individuals would "favour a system that rewarded them if they recycled everything they could and penalised them if they didn't". Fifty-two per cent. of residents were in favour of this statement, with 24 per cent. disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.
	In addition, Eunomia Research and Consulting Ltd produced a report for DEFRA on the project 'Modelling the Impact of Household Charging for Waste in England.'

Plastics: Recycling

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he has taken to encourage the recycling of plastic; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Recycling is strongly promoted by a range of Government policies. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is working to maximise the amount and quality of recyclate used in UK manufacturing operations.
	The demand for recycled plastic is very strong, from both UK manufacturers and overseas markets. The UK currently recycles or recovers approximately 19 per cent. of all plastic consumed, and this is set to increase to over 25 per cent. by 2010. WRAP has a number of projects over the next two years which aim to switch manufacturing processes from virgin to recycled materials, including a target to support the recycling of an additional 16 kilo tonnes of plastic bottles—an increase of 30 per cent. from current levels. The use of recycled content in packaging is expanding rapidly, partly due to WRAP's work to stimulate this market.
	The Waste Strategy for England 2007, which we published in May, focuses action on key waste materials for greater scope for improving environmental and economic outcomes, one of which is plastic. The strategy recognises that recycling plastics shows significant potential for carbon and energy savings through displacing virgin materials. Actions set out in the strategy include developing proposals (subject to further analysis) for higher packaging recycling targets beyond the 2008 EC packaging directive targets, and supporting WRAP in its work to increase recycling of plastics and the recycled content of certain plastic containers.
	We have set demanding targets, both nationally and locally, for household waste recycling and composting and the Waste Strategy 2007 sets even higher national targets, to reach at least 40 per cent. by 2010, 45 per cent. by 2015 and 50 per cent. by 2020. These targets are not material-specific, but we expect the range of materials collected by local authorities, including plastics, to increase further as targets become more demanding and as collection and treatment capacity increases.

Plastics: Recycling

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there is surplus capacity to recycle plastic waste in the UK.

Joan Ruddock: The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has carried out some work on the plastic processing capacity/supply relationship. The indication is that the UK, along with most of Europe, does have some excess capacity to process plastic waste. The exceptions are plastic bottles, and to some extent waste electrical and electronic equipment plastics, where growth in collection has supported a substantial growth in reprocessing capacity.
	However, this is a complex area, and much of the existing capacity is too old, too small or targeting the wrong end products. Many plants are therefore investing in new capacity or updating and consolidating existing plants, some with support from WRAP. WRAP has a number of projects designed to maximise the amount and quality of recyclate, including plastic, used in UK manufacturing operations.

Turtles: Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on the protection of chelonians, with particular reference to turtles.

Joan Ruddock: Marine turtles are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 and the Offshore Marine Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 2007 which came into force in August of this year. These pieces of legislation establish a strict system of protection for marine turtles in the UK, including prohibitions in respect of the deliberate capture, injuring, killing or disturbance, as well as the sale or exchange, of these species.
	The UK also plays a prominent role in various international agreements and conventions such as the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) and the convention on migratory species (CMS), both of which include measures to protect endangered chelonians (including marine turtles, tortoises and terrapins). The illegal trade in CITES species is one of the top UK wildlife crime priorities for 2007-08, with a particular focus on five species, including tortoises, that are threatened by illegal trade.

Wildlife: Trade

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is  (a) taking and  (b) planning to take to prevent British holidaymakers from participating in the illegal wildlife trade.

Joan Ruddock: Since 2000 DEFRA, in partnership with WWF-UK, has been running a 'Souvenir Alert' campaign to help tackle the problem of holidaymakers unknowingly bringing back illegal wildlife souvenirs. The campaign advises travellers to be careful when buying souvenirs made from endangered wildlife, so that they do not contribute to the devastating effect of illegal and unsustainable trade. It warns that bringing home souvenirs containing products derived from animals or plants protected by the convention on international trade in endangered species (CITES) may require a permit or may even be prohibited.
	DEFRA takes its responsibilities under CITES seriously and continues to look for opportunities to raise awareness of CITES controls to ensure effective implementation.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Drugs

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many drugs tests on  (a) Army,  (b) Navy and  (c) RAF personnel produced positive results in each quarter since January 2006, broken down by the (i) class of drugs and (ii) regiment concerned.

Derek Twigg: The following tables show the results of drug tests in the armed forces since January 2006, broken down by quarter, class of drug and service. A breakdown by regiment could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Royal Navy 
			Positive results  Class A  Class B  Class C 
			  Period  Number of Tests carried out  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			  2006  
			 1 January to 31 March 3,619 13 0.35 10 — 0 0 3 — 
			 1 April to 30 June 2,939 8 0.27 2 — 0 0 6 — 
			 1 July to 30 September 3,343 19 0.56 17 — 0 0 2 — 
			 1 October to 31 December 3,037 17 0.55 17 — 0 0 0 — 
			   
			  2007  
			 1 January to 31 March 2,822 7 0.24 3 — 0 0 4 — 
			 1 April to 30 June 2,994 14 0.46 8 — 0 0 6 — 
			 1 July to 30 September 2,887 10 0.35 10 — 0 0 0 — 
			 Total 21,957 88 0.40 67 76 0 0 21 24 
		
	
	
		
			  Army 
			Positive results  Class A  Class B  Class C 
			  Period  Number of Tests carried out  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			  2006  
			 1 January to 31 March 32,449 261 0.80 156 — 12 — 117 — 
			 1 April to 30 June 26,105 190 0.73 119 — 11 — 82 — 
			 1 July to 30 September 19,477 152 0.78 220 — 8 — 63 — 
			 1 October to 31 December 26,468 234 0.88 205 — 9 — 56 — 
			   
			  2007  
			 1 January to 31 March 25,230 228 0.90 166 — 8 — 80 — 
			 1 April to 30 June 17,537 189 1.08 148 — 5 — 54 — 
			 1 July to 30 September 16,734 (1)143 (1)0.85 108 — 7 — 42 — 
			 Total 164,000 1,397 0.85 1,122 67 60 3.6 494 30 
			 (1) Awaiting results of 1,250 tests conducted during September 2007. 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Air Force 
			Positive results  Class A  Class B  Class C 
			  Period  Number of Tests carried out  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			  2006  
			 1 January to 31 March 3,105 7 0.23 6 — 0 0 1 — 
			 1 April to 30 June 3,062 6 0.20 5 — 0 0 1 — 
			 1 July to 30 September 3,545 2 0.06 1 — 0 0 1 — 
			 1 October to 31 December 3,172 3 0.09 0 — 0 0 3 — 
			   
			  2007  
			 1 January to 31 March 2,785 3 0.11 2 — 0 0 1 — 
			 1 April to 30 June 3,606 5 0.14 3 — 0 0 2 — 
			 1 July to 30 September 2,279 1 0.04 1 — 0 0 0 — 
			 Total 21,554 27 0.13 18 67 0 0 9 33 
			  Notes: 1. A single test sample may contain more than one class of drug; the sum of positive test results for class A, B and C drugs may therefore be greater than the overall number of positive results. 2. The percentages in the totals for class A, B and C drugs are the percentages of each class total against the sum of the class totals.

Armed Forces: Pay

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel in the  (a) RAF,  (b) Army,  (c) Navy,  (d) Marines and  (e) Reserves have been (i) overpaid and (ii) underpaid under the joint personnel administration system since March 2006.

Derek Twigg: The joint personnel administration (JPA) system was rolled out to the Royal Air Force (RAF) in March 2006, the Royal Navy (RN) in October 2006 and the Army in April 2007.
	Information for the Royal Marines is contained in the RN information. The information on Reserves is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	The RN and RAF figures for 2006 are as follows:
	
		
			  2006  RN Over  RN Under  RAF Over  RAF Under 
			 March 0 0 0 0 
			 April 0 0 4,064 1,804 
			 May 0 0 230 475 
			 June 0 0 257 288 
			 July 0 0 139 120 
			 August 0 0 2,979 7,058 
			 September 0 0 4 0 
			 October 0 0 0 0 
			 November 9,618 2,289 1,200 1,678 
			 December 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	From January 2007, JPA system errors are no longer recorded separately by service and figures are therefore not available for the Army. The combined figures for 2007 are as follows:
	
		
			  2007  Overpayments  Underpayments 
			 January 161 1,383 
			 February 70 0 
			 March 229 54 
			 April 13,908 252 
			 May 3,430 1,181 
			 June 0 90 
			 July 2,978 416 
			 August 0 51,917 
			 September 0 12 
		
	
	These figures are the total over and underpayments. It should be noted that the majority of the 51,917 underpayments recorded in August relate to a single error which took a charity contribution from each RN/RM account of £3. The error has been corrected and the money will be re-credited to pay accounts in October.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate  (a) the cost of making service in the armed forces prior to 1975 of less than 22 years duration pensionable and  (b) the consequential costs elsewhere in the public sector of making service in the armed forces prior to 1975 of less than 22 years duration pensionable.

Derek Twigg: It is not practical to make an accurate estimate of the cost of making pension awards to those service personnel who served less than 22 years reckonable service prior to 1975.
	The consequential cost of providing pensions for pre-1975 service on a retrospective basis across the public sector would be prohibitive—exceeding billions of pounds.
	There remains no realistic prospect that this or any Government could afford to address these public-sector pension legacy issues. Further details were set out in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, then Minister for the Armed Forces, in the Adjournment Debate on 31 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 338-40, which clearly set out the legislative and policy background to this matter.

Armed Forces: Personnel Management

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving and former RAF personnel payments have been missed since 1 January 2007 under Joint Personnel Administration; how many complaints have been received from members of the armed forces about Joint Personnel Administration; and how many complaints are still outstanding.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The total number of serving and former Royal Air Force personnel payments that have been missed since 1 January could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, across the three services between 1 January 2007 and 30 September 2007 there have been 55,305 underpayments (which may be considered missed payments) and 683 pension payments which were not enabled within the target of five working days of discharge.
	The majority of the 55,305 underpayments relate to a single error that occurred in August which took a charity contribution from each Royal Navy and Royal Marine account of £3. The error has been corrected and the money will be re-credited to pay accounts in the October pay run.
	Between 1 January 2007 and 30 September 2007, 1,053 complaints had been received from armed forces personnel via the centralised JPA complaints process about incorrect payments and other apparent problems with pay or the handling of queries. Of these, 47 remain outstanding.

Army: Drugs

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British Army personnel tested positive after compulsory drug testing using urine samples for  (a) cocaine only,  (b) ecstasy only,  (c) cannabis only and  (d) any drug in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2006, broken down by the day of the week on which the sample was obtained.

Derek Twigg: The following table illustrates positive drug tests for each drug and combination of drugs for the years 2003 and 2006. Details of the day of the week on which each positive sample was obtained could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Drug type  2003  2006 
			 Heroin 4 1 
			 Total Heroin 4 1 
			
			 Cocaine 112 340 
			 Cocaine/Ecstasy 7 34 
			 Cocaine/Ecstasy/Amphetamine 1 3 
			 Cocaine/Ecstasy/Cannabis 4 6 
			 Cocaine/Ecstasy/ Amphetamine/Cannabis 2 0 
			 Cocaine/ Amphetamine 1 6 
			 Cocaine/ Amphetamine /Cannabis 0 1 
			 Cocaine/Cannabis 9 33 
			 Total Cocaine 136 423 
			
			 Ecstasy 85 73 
			 Ecstasy/Amphetamine 7 9 
			 Ecstasy/Amphetamine/Cannabis 4 3 
			 Ecstasy/Cannabis 7 10 
			 Total Ecstasy 103 95 
			
			 Cannabis 244 221 
			 Cannabis/Benzodiazepine 0 0 
			 Total Cannabis 244 221 
			
			 Amphetamine 18 15 
			 Amphetamine/Cannabis 6 4 
			 Amphetamine/Methyl Amphetamine/Cannabis 1 0 
			 Total Amphetamine 25 19 
			
			 Benzodiazepine 6 10 
			 Total Benzodiazepine 6 10 
			
			 Total positive results 518 769

Army: Recruitment

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the rate of recruitment to the Army was in each of the last five years, broken down by sector.

Derek Twigg: The following tables show the rates of gains to trained strength of the UK Regular Army by Arm/Service during the financial years 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 and for the period 1 April 2006 to 28 February 2007.
	
		
			  Table 1: Regular Army Officer Rates of Gains to Trained Strength (GTS) 
			  Percentage 
			  Arm/Service  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps 5.9 6.6 5.8 6.0 6.6 
			 Royal Regiment of Artillery 6.4 5.5 6.4 6.0 5.5 
			 Corps of Royal Engineers 5.6 4.6 5.6 5.6 6.5 
			 Royal Corps of Signals 4.6 4.5 6.0 4.9 4.3 
			 The Infantry 6.6 7.1 5.9 5.7 6.0 
			 Army Air Corps 5.5 6.2 6.9 6.2 5.4 
			 Royal Army Chaplain's Department 7.8 4.2 8.8 5.9 7.3 
			 The Royal Logistics Corps 4.4 4.8 5.0 5.3 4.9 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 13.0 13.2 14.2 12.4 8.4 
			 Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 4.7 3.8 5.4 4.3 4.2 
			 Adjutant General's Corps (Provost Branch) 8.1 8.0 8.3 7.5 6.9 
			 Adjutant General's Corps (Staff and Personnel Support Branch) 3.4 4.3 6.0 5.7 5.1 
			 Adjutant General's Corps (Educational and Training Services Branch) 4.8 6.0 5.8 7.1 6.0 
			 Adjutant General's Corps (Army Legal Services Branch) 12.3 3.2 7.5 20.0 11.6 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 10.4 10.4 10.5 17.9 11.5 
			 Royal Army Dental Corps 17.3 9.6 6.2 3.6 13.1 
			 Intelligence Corps 4.7 2.7 5.5 5.2 7.5 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 8.2 2.5 7.1 7.4 5.5 
			 Corps of Army Music 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.9 
			 Total 5.4 5.2 5.8 5.6 5.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2:Regular Army Soldier Rates of Gains to Trained Strength (GTS) 
			  Percentage 
			  Arm/Service  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07( 1) 
			 Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps 14.2 11.8 9.6 8.6 10.3 
			 Royal Regiment of Artillery 12.7 11.4 8.9 9.1 8.8 
			 Corps of Royal Engineers 14.3 13.5 15.3 12.6 11.5 
			 Royal Corps of Signals 14.5 10.6 10.1 6.7 6.2 
			 The Infantry 12.8 14.8 11.0 9.7 11.3 
			 Army Air Corps 9.4 9.6 14.9 12.5 9.0 
			 The Royal Logistics Corps 11.9 13.9 11.1 10.6 7.6 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 11.9 10.9 11.3 11.4 8.5 
			 Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 11.1 9.5 10.0 10.1 7.0 
			 Adjutant General's Corps (Provost Branch) 9.2 8.4 10.7 6.2 5.0 
			 Adjutant General's Corps (Staff and Personnel Support Branch) 7.2 9.5 4.4 2.3 1.5 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 20.6 11.9 11.5 11.5 9.8 
			 Royal Army Dental Corps 13.3 5.8 3.2 7.8 10.3 
			 Intelligence Corps 8.4 5.1 7.8 9.6 7.9 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 12.3 22.3 9.2 10.9 9.7 
			 Corps of Army Music 5.8 5.4 3.7 4.3 2.3 
			 Total 12.1 12.2 10.4 9.3 8.6 
			 (1) Due to ongoing data validation following the introduction of the new Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) System, there is no arm/service information currently available since 1 March 2007. Therefore it is possible to provide data only for 2006-07 from 1 April 2006 to 28 February 2007.   Notes:  1. Rates are for the Regular Army only and exclude Gurkhas, full-time reserve service, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists.  2. Annual rates have been calculated by taking the GTS for each arm/service in the period as a percentage of the average strength for all trained officers and soldiers in that arm/service over the same period.  3. The Officer GTS include all Direct Entry Commissions (DE) and Professionally Qualified Officers (PQOs) who have been recorded as a Gain to Trained Strength during the Financial Years 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07.

Greenwich Hospital: Middleton

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Greenwich Hospital, Middleton Estate at Belford, Northumberland, is being marketed in separate lots; what information is being provided to farm and cottage tenants about the progress of the sale; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Greenwich Hospital's Middleton Estate was offered for sale in autumn 2006 either as a whole or as six separate lots. In May 2007 the hospital accepted a bid for the whole estate from a consortium which included the three existing tenant farmers. The lead buyer has recently withdrawn but the hospital is currently progressing the sale of the farms to the tenant farmers.
	Through its managing agents, the hospital periodically informs all tenants of relevant progress and will continue to do so. All potential buyers are fully aware of the terms of all other existing estate tenancies (around 40) and will be bound to purchase subject to the terms and conditions of these tenancies.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serious hand injuries have occurred to soldiers in  (a) Iran and  (b) Afghanistan over the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 18 October 2007
	 This answer presumes that the question was meant to refer to Iraq, rather than Iran.
	Taking a serious hand injury to mean an amputation, open fracture, degloving (removal from the bone of the surrounding muscle and skin structure), or major laceration of artery or vein, our records show that since 1 October 2006 there have been 15 cases in Iraq and seven cases in Afghanistan.

Merchant Marine: War Pensions

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many members of the Merchant Marine have been awarded a war pension due to injuries or illness suffered in the Pacific area during nuclear tests;
	(2)  what the rationale is for treating members of the Merchant Marine acting alongside UK forces and service personnel differently in relation to qualification for war pensions.

Derek Twigg: The rules of the Mercantile Marine scheme are currently contained in the War Pensions (Mercantile Marine) Scheme 1964. The scheme dates from the second world war and was intended to reflect the additional dangers of war over and above those normally found on board ship. The scheme therefore provides for awards to be made to members of the mercantile marine only in respect of "war injuries" (injuries caused by enemy action or in combating such action) and "war risk injuries" (injuries resulting from conditions on ship which would not be normal in peace time, such as measures to avoid or prevent enemy action). The scheme does not cover injuries or illnesses arising in peace time.
	Owing to the historical nature of the scheme, information on the total number of war pensions is not held. However I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 October,  Official Report, column 1125W, for the number of those currently in receipt of a pension.

Military Bases: Portsmouth

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of land at HM Naval Base Portsmouth is allocated to  (a) museums and heritage purposes,  (b) Vosper Thornycroft Shipbuilders and  (c) operational Royal Navy requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: The total area of land at HM Naval Base Portsmouth is some 383 acres. The proportion of land allocated at the naval base for museum and heritage purposes is 3.6 per cent. (13.87 acres); for VT Group Shipbuilders it is 8.5 per cent. (32.65 acres); and for operational purposes it is 87 per cent. (335.5 acres). In addition, 0.3 per cent. (0.98 acres) of land is allocated to BAE Systems. The figure for land required to support operational requirements includes two ship basins, the Royal Marines School of Music, and sports facilities required to prepare Royal Navy personnel for operations.

Military Fighting Vehicles

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the option for a further 400 Panther command and liaison vehicles will be taken up.

Bob Ainsworth: We have no current plans to procure further Panther vehicles.

Navy: Drug Seizures

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1250W, on Navy: drug seizures, what the circumstances and outcome of each drug seizure made by the Royal Navy in 2006-07 was; and to which law enforcement agency the contraband was turned over in each case.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table sets out the details of each drug seizure in which the Royal Navy was involved, for the financial year 2006-07. All the drug seizures detailed in the table involved cocaine. It is difficult to put an accurate value on the amount of illegal drugs seized or destroyed in these operations. The price of illegal drugs varies greatly depending on supply and demand, as well as the purity of the drugs themselves when they reach the UK market. Therefore quoted MOD figures for the "street value" of successful seizures are always estimates. It should be noted that it is likely that not all the cocaine seized would have reached the UK market.
	
		
			  Date  Location  Estimated Tonnage  Estimated Street Value( 1)  (£ million)  Ships involved  Lead Agency for Contraband 
			 10 September 2006 300 miles north east of Barbados 5 245 RFA Wave Ruler US Law Enforcement Detachment 
			 5 October 2006 Off the west coast of North Africa 1.8 88 HMS Argyle and RFA Gold Rover Spanish Law Enforcement Detachment 
			 25 October 2006 Off the coast of Puerto Rico 3 147 RFA Wave Ruler US Law Enforcement Detachment 
			 6 November 2006 300 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands 1.3 64 HMS Argyle Spanish Law Enforcement Detachment 
			 23 November 2006 600 miles north east of Barbados 2.9 142 RFA Wave Ruler US Law Enforcement Detachment 
			 (1) If drugs had reached the UK. 
		
	
	In my answer to the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) on 26 June 2007,  Official Report, column 670W, about drug seizures, it has been identified that the data are incorrect for 2005-06 and 2006-07. The correct tonnage should read 17 and 14 respectively.

Royal Marines: Devonport

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to moving the headquarters of 1 Assault Group Royal Marines from Poole to Devonport; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 18 October 2007
	 As part of the overall FLEET Transformation programme, operational control of 1 Assault Group Royal Marines was transferred on 18 October from the Devonport Flotilla to Flag Officer Sea Training based in Devonport. It is planned for the headquarters element of the assault group (approximately 15 personnel) to relocate from Poole to Devonport in the first half of next year.

Royal Regiment of Scotland

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many non-UK Commonwealth citizens are serving with the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Derek Twigg: The information is as follows:
	
		
			  Non-UK Commonwealth regular officers and soldiers in the Royal Regiment of Scotland at 1 March 2007 
			   Officers  Soldiers  Total 
			 Royal Regiment of Scotland 15 40 55 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are shown as at 1 March 2007, as reliable Army strength statistics to this level of detail are not yet available for 1 April 2007 onwards due to on-going validation of Army data following the introduction of the new personnel administration system.  2. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. 
		
	
	The figures above are trained regular officers and soldiers only.
	Figures include non-British Commonwealth citizens posted to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and exclude Royal Regiment of Scotland non-British Commonwealth citizens posted away from the unit.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Council Housing: Employment

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of social tenants were in  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time employment in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: On the basis of figures derived from the Survey of English Housing, it is estimated that, in 1997-98, 23 per cent. of social tenants who were the main householder were in full-time employment and 7 per cent. were in part-time employment.
	The latest estimates, for 2005-06, are that 22 per cent. of social tenants were in full-time employment and 9 per cent. in part-time employment.

Empty Property: Public Sector

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many public-sector homes in  (a) England and  (b) each Government office region in England were empty in April 2007;
	(2)  how many public-sector domestic dwellings were vacant in  (a) England and  (b) each Government office region in England in April.

Iain Wright: The number of local authority and registered social landlord vacant dwellings in each region at 1 April 2006, the latest date for which figures are available, is below.
	
		
			  Vacancies by region, 1 April 2006 
			   Local authority( 1)  Registered social landlords( 2) 
			 NE 4,358 3,236 
			 NW 6,295 7,947 
			 YH 6,142 2,882 
			 EM 4,294 1,244 
			 WM 3,923 4,550 
			 E 3,105 1,868 
			 L 10,107 4,405 
			 SE 2,780 2,471 
			 SW 1,887 1,567 
			 England 42,891 30,170 
			  Source:(1) Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix as reported by local authorities.  (2) Regulatory Statistical Return as reported by registered social landlords.

Floods: EC Grants

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what applications she has made to the European Union for funding in relation to 2007 UK flood damage; what assessment she has made of applications by other European states for equivalent funding; and what funding she has secured from the European Union for such purposes.

John Healey: An application for support from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) in respect of the June and July flooding in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was lodged with the European Commission on 20 August. It is for the Commission to decide what level of support to offer, and the application is currently being discussed with it.
	Applications by other member states to the EUSF have resulted in offers of support ranging approximately between 2.5 per cent. and 5 per cent. of the damage suffered. The UK current estimate for total damage is over €4 billion. Of the total number of applications received by the European Commission since 2002, 23 have been accepted by the Commission and 17 rejected, with a further two withdrawn and decisions pending on five other applications.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of the homes being built in English Partnerships' eco-village in Bristol will be zero-carbon.

Iain Wright: The homes at the eco-village at Hanham Hall, Bristol are to be developed under the Carbon Challenge. The Carbon Challenge is a competition being delivered by English Partnerships on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government and is aimed at accelerating the house building industry's response to climate change. Hanham Hall is owned by English Partnerships and is the first Carbon Challenge site to be developed. All the homes will be required to meet Level 6, which is the highest level, of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The energy standard for code level 6 requires net zero carbon emissions for each new home. This means that, over the course of a year, the amount of energy taken from the grid to facilitate the running of the home will be less than or equal to the amount of energy returned using renewable technologies.

Housing: Low Incomes

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many units of social housing were available in  (a) the Cheadle constituency and  (b) Stockport local authority in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

Iain Wright: Information specific to the Cheadle constituency is not held centrally, but the numbers of social rent dwellings in Stockport that are owned or managed by local authorities and registered social landlords (RSLs) are tabulated as follows:
	
		
			  1 April  Local authority( 1)  Registered social landlords( 2)  Total 
			 2005 13,104 4,641 17,745 
			 2006 13,000 4,657 17,657 
			  Sources:(1) Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix reported by Stockport.  (2) Statistical Return reported by registered social landlords. 
		
	
	RSL stock includes supported/older people self contained units and bed spaces.

Housing: Opencast Mining

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations her Department has received calling for buffer zones between domestic dwellings and opencast mines; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: I am aware of two representations to the Department which called for buffer zones between domestic dwellings and opencast mines.
	The Government have no plans to introduce a planning policy recommending uniform buffer zones around opencast mining sites in England. It considers that the interests of the occupants of neighbouring properties, and the environment, are better served by the present practice of considering the specific impacts of individual mining schemes in the light of all the local relevant circumstances, as part of the preparation of an environmental impact assessment for an application for planning permission.

Local Authorities: Grants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans her Department has to make additional retrospective payments to councils under the local authority business growth incentives scheme following the successful judicial review proceedings brought against it.

John Healey: On 6 September, the Department wrote to all eligible local authorities with details of additional payments made as a result of the recent judicial review proceedings. A further explanation can be found at http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/labgi/addpayexp.pdf and individual authority grant awards can be found at http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/labgi/dtmncode20.pdf.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary legislation in relation to the proposed local government restructuring and establishment of unitary local government.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Beckenham (Mrs. Lait) on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 862W.

Mobile Homes Act 1983

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will review the operation of the Mobile Homes Act 1983 as amended in 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Government accepted the majority of the recommendations made by the park homes working party in 2000. Since then, Government have been taking forward a significant programme of work to implement those recommendations. Those relating to the Implied Terms in Schedule 1 of the Mobile Homes Act 1983 came into force on 1 October 2006. The remaining recommendations are currently being taken forward and will be completed when parliamentary time allows. As the programme of work is ongoing and has been in force only for a year, we believe it is too early to decide when a review of the effectiveness of its implementation should be carried out.

Public Bodies

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance has been produced for public authorities on procurement and public-sector equality duties.

Barbara Follett: I have been asked to reply
	Each of the previous equality Commissions, the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission produced guidance on procurement and the race, disability and gender public-sector equality duties respectively. The Office of Government Commerce has also produced a guidance note on social issues in purchasing which provides information on public procurement and the public-sector equality duties.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government have taken to encourage landlords of student accommodation to sign up to the tenancy deposit protection Scheme; and what further plans she has to encourage such landlords to sign up to the scheme.

Iain Wright: The Department has a publicity and awareness campaign for the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme specifically aimed at students. The campaign was developed in close association with large student accommodation providers and the National Union of Students. TDP has been promoted to students on campuses, in student bars and in public areas, and supported by advertising via ATM machines and on student accommodation websites.
	Direct marketing to students at 30 universities in England and Wales started in September 2007, led by students themselves. This encompasses distributing leaflets and posters, information on student blogging websites, web forums and direct information to letting agents offering student accommodation. It is intended that this activity will raise awareness with newly arrived students. This activity is ongoing and will be prominently repeated in January 2008, the peak time when students start searching for private rented property for the autumn term. Such awareness will equip students to know when to tackle their landlords if they believe they have failed to protect their deposits.
	National and regional landlord organisations, as well as landlord forums and accreditation schemes run by local authorities, have an active role to play in ensuring that the message is disseminated to landlords. Reputable letting agents are aware of the new requirements and are responsible for ensuring that their landlord clients comply with the legislation.

Unemployment: Housing Problems

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her strategy is for helping unemployed homeless people and people living in unsettled accommodation, including hostels, into employment and independent living.

Iain Wright: The Government recognise that training and employment are a key route out of homelessness. Our homelessness strategy "Sustainable Communities: Settled Homes; Changing Lives" (2005) includes a programme of work across Government to tackle the wider causes and symptoms of homelessness, including improving access to benefits, training and employment.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government is working closely with DWP, Jobcentre Plus, local authorities, the voluntary and community sector, and the private sector on a number of initiatives, including
	The Hostels Capital Improvement Programme is providing funding of over £90 million for 178 projects in 62 local authority areas to improve the physical condition of hostels and day centres and transform their services to put activity, training, work, education and social enterprise at the heart of their ethos.
	Through the Invest to Save Budget, the Government are supporting the Transitional Spaces Project led by Off the Streets and Into Work project, which plans to work with hostel residents to build their skills and gain sustainable employment.
	Government are supporting the Working Future pilot, which is testing the impact of reduced rents and increased access to employment services on work incentives for families with dependent children in private sector leased temporary accommodation in East London.
	The Department also continues to support a number of organisations, including Business Action on Homelessness and the Construction Youth Trust, working to support people who have experienced homelessness into work.
	Ongoing work with DWP includes reforming the housing benefit subsidy regime to reflect the true costs of temporary accommodation, and supporting DWP's ongoing improvements to housing benefit administration.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable adults are offered the chance to get back on a path to a more successful life, by increasing the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation and in employment, education or training.

WALES

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of employees in  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age.

Peter Hain: My Department does not have executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies.
	Data on the number and percentage of employees above state retirement age for my Department are not available from published sources.

Departments: Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many citizens' juries have been arranged by his Department since June 2007; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the estimated cost is of each exercise;
	(2)  how many citizens' juries were arranged for  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in each year since 1997; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the cost was of each.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office has not conducted any citizens' juries between 1997 and the present, nor are any currently being arranged.

Departments: Standards

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of his Department's public service agreement targets  (a) take and  (b) do not take account of rural proofing.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office does not have public service agreement targets. My Department's objectives, performance targets and indicators can be found in its annual report.
	The 2007 Report (CM7110) can be obtained from the Library of the House or can be viewed on our website at
	http://www.walesoffice.gov.uk/2007/AnnualReport2007.pdf

Legislative Drafting

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the responses received by the Wales Office to the Government's consultation on their legislative programme.

Peter Hain: The Leader of the House of Commons has already committed to publishing a summary of all consultation responses and she will do so at the start of the next session.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Nationals Overseas: Courts

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what  (a) aid and  (b) advice is provided to British citizens who are called upon to act as witnesses in foreign courts; and when such support was last reviewed;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens involved in court cases abroad in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what information his Department holds on the average level of expenses faced by British citizens who act as witnesses in court cases abroad; and what advice his Department gives such people.

Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) plays no direct role in arrangements for British nationals acting as witnesses in court cases abroad and therefore does not hold information on the level of expenses involved. For the same reason, I am unable to make an estimate of the number of British nationals involved in court cases abroad in each of the last five years.
	When requested, the FCO and consular staff overseas will provide consular assistance in line with the practice set out in our publication "Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide", including general information on legal and police procedures in the country concerned and lists of local English-speaking lawyers and interpreters. Copies of "Support for British Nationals Abroad: A Guide" are available in the Library of the House. Guidance for consular officials was fully reviewed in May 2007.

Burma: Association of South East Asian Nations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by  (a) the UK Government and  (b) the EU to engage with the Association of South East Asian Nations Governments on the situation in Burma.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I have been in regular contact with Ministers from Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states to explain our position and urge them to remain firm in their support for regional and international action on Burma. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised Burma with his counterparts from Singapore and Thailand in New York on 26 September. I have raised the issue with Ministers and senior officials from Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, raised Burma with the Indonesian Foreign Minister in New York at the UN General Assembly and I held further talks with the Singapore Foreign Minister in Singapore on 22 October.
	ASEAN issued a strongly worded statement on Burma on 27 September, in which it expressed its revulsion at the actions of the regime and calling on them to stop using violence against demonstrators.
	EU Heads of Mission have carried out demarches in ASEAN member states, calling on them to use their diplomatic influence to encourage the Burmese regime to end the repression of demonstrators and free all political prisoners.

Burma: Oppression

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the recent death under interrogation of a pro-democracy activist in Burma; and what representations he has made to the Burmese authorities.

Meg Munn: We are aware of reports of the death in custody of Win Shwe.
	We have repeatedly condemned the Burmese Government's violent suppression of the recent peaceful demonstrations and the treatment of pro-democracy activists across Burma.
	On 15 October, the Council of the European Union released a statement which called for a thorough and impartial investigation of the deaths of demonstrators and other human rights violations in Burma. We, and partners, are urging the Burmese authorities to admit the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to Burma forthwith and co-operate fully with him.

Burma: Politics and Government

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the situation in Burma;
	(2)  what measures he is taking to promote freedom of speech and expression within Burma;
	(3)  what pressure is being placed upon the Burmese Government to stop abuses of human rights.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a written ministerial statement on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 12-15WS, on the situation in Burma. We placed an updated compilation of reports on the situation in Burma on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website on 15 October.
	On 2 October, the Human Rights Council (HRC) passed a resolution sponsored by the EU, with the strong support of the UK, which expressed deep concern about the situation in Burma. In our statement to the HRC, we drew attention to the regime's violations, including restrictions on the freedom of speech and association, and the suffering of Burma's ethnic communities.
	The UK co-sponsored the presidential statement unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council on 11 October. This was the first formal action ever taken by the Security Council on Burma. The statement called upon the Government of Burma to take all necessary measures to address the human rights that are the concern of its people.
	On 15 October, the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council, at which my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary represented the UK, called for a thorough and impartial investigation of the deaths of demonstrators and other continuing violations of human rights. It also called upon the Burmese regime to co-operate fully with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. In response to the Burmese Government's failure to exercise restraint in their treatment of the demonstrators, the Council of the EU agreed to implement stronger restrictive measures against the regime. The strengthened measures include a ban on the import of metals, minerals, timber and semi-precious stones and a ban on investment in these sectors. These measures are designed to target the interests of the Generals, rather than to harm the people of Burma.
	Our ambassador in Rangoon has also highlighted our concerns in his meetings with the Burmese Government on an ongoing basis, most recently on 25 September.

Burma: Politics and Government

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether a deadline has been set for reconciliation talks between the Burmese regime and opposition party politicians; and what the status is of these talks.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	 The UN Secretary-General's envoy to Burma, Professor Gambari, is promoting a process of national reconciliation in Burma which should include the civil opposition, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the minority ethnic groups and the military junta.
	We hope that Professor Gambari will shortly return to Burma to take forward this process. No date has been set for meetings, but we want the reconciliation process to begin as soon as possible.

Burma: Sanctions

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on a UN arms embargo against Burma; and when this subject will next be raised at the UN Security Council.

Meg Munn: In his statement of 15 October, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said we will begin discussions with our partners about proposals for a UN arms embargo. We are taking this forward at official level.
	No date has yet been agreed for further discussions in the UN Security Council, but we expect the Security Council to discuss Burma again when Professor Gambari, the UN Secretary-General's envoy, returns from the region.
	An EU arms embargo is already in place. In response to the Burmese Government's failure to exercise restraint in their treatment of the demonstrations, on 15 October EU Foreign Ministers agreed to implement stronger restrictive measures against that regime. The EU is prepared to review, amend or reinforce these measures in the light of developments on the ground.

Burma: Sanctions

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the effectiveness of the new package of EU sanctions announced in the EU Council Conclusions on Burma/Myanmar on 15 October will be  (a) monitored,  (b) assessed and  (c) reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	 The EU monitors and evaluates sanctions through its range of geographical and thematic working groups. For Burma, the relevant working group is the Committee for Asia (known as COASI). Formal legal reviews of EU sanctions are also undertaken by the Foreign Relations Counsellors Working Party (known as RELEX).
	We will be working closely with all our European partners to ensure that this new package of EU sanctions will be properly monitored, assessed and reviewed, which includes addressing any risk that goods might be diverted or re-exported to Burma. The EU is prepared to review, amend or reinforce measures in the light of developments on the ground.
	We are discussing a range of broader measures with our EU colleagues that target sources of revenue for the regime, but do not hurt the civilian population. We do not exclude introducing a total ban on future investment if the regime does not make concessions on dialogue.
	Whether the EU measures against the Burmese regime are strengthened or relaxed in future will depend on the regime's willingness to allow a real political transition to begin.

Burma: United Nations

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the EU plans to take to promote UN engagement with Burma; what form such engagement is likely to take; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	 EU Foreign Ministers meeting at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 15 October condemned the brutal crackdown on demonstrators in Burma and strongly supported the actions by the UN, in particular the good offices mission of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari. The Foreign Ministers also announced the imposition of additional measures and sanctions targeting the regime.
	The EU will continue to support UN engagement with Burma. The EU has regular and close contacts at all levels with the Association of South East Asian Nations and other partners through which it will underline the importance of lending full regional support to the UN and to Mr. Gambari. The EU also stands ready to review, amend or reinforce these measures, in the light of developments on the ground and the results of the good offices mission of the UN, thereby increasing Mr. Gambari's leverage with the Burmese regime. The EU will also continue to provide support for humanitarian assistance inside Burma.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions has he had with the Governments of  (a) the Democratic Republic of the Congo and  (b) Rwanda on how to deal with the militia under the control of General Nkundu.

Meg Munn: My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, met a delegation of advisers to President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in London on 13 September and spoke with President Kabila at the UN on 26 September. On both occasions he urged the Congolese Government to continue to look for a political solution to the problems affecting the east of the country and not to take a military approach against General Nkunda.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, together with my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for International Development, met President Kagame of Rwanda on 3 October. President Kagame had another meeting with my noble Friend the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown and my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Vadera, on the same day. President Kagame agreed that integrating General Nkunda's troops into the Congolese armed forces was a necessary step towards peace. At both meetings the Government of Rwanda were urged to deliver on the commitments made in an agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 3 September.

Departments: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people were employed by his Department on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were  (a) permanent employees,  (b) temporary staff and  (c) contractors.

Jim Murphy: Figures for Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff numbers are published in the Civil Service Annual Statistics reports from the Cabinet Office according to a central counting convention. The figure for the full-time equivalent staff numbers for 2007 is not yet available. The numbers of full time equivalent, UK based staff (ie excluding staff employed locally at posts) for each of the previous five years and including the FCO's agencies, Wilton Park and FCO Services, were as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 6,130 
			 2005 5,930 
			 2004 5,970 
			 2003 5,950 
			 2002 5,680 
		
	
	The figure provided for 2006 is as at 30 September that year. Earlier figures are for 1 April in the relevant year. The numbers for contract and temporary staff employed are not held centrally and it would incur disproportionate cost to collate this information. The growth in staff numbers in 2006 was primarily due to increases in visa and consular work. Funding for staff in these areas is derived from the fees charged for these services.

Departments: Policy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what policy changes his Department has implemented since 27 June 2007.

Meg Munn: Foreign policy is fast-moving and constantly evolving. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has implemented a number of new and changed policies since 27 June 2007 and we have kept Parliament fully informed.
	These policy initiatives cover a wide range of issues and countries including Burma, Zimbabwe, Russia, Darfur/Chad, Iraq and Afghanistan among others. Details, including statements, speeches, announcements and blogs can be found on the FCO website www.fco.gov.uk and its associated links.

EU External Relations: Zimbabwe

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the appointment of a European envoy for Zimbabwe to be agreed by the EU; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: The situation in Zimbabwe is of concern to all EU countries. At the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 15 October, Foreign Ministers discussed the role of an EU envoy. The Presidency, in consultation with the Secretary-General of the Council of the EU, is charged with responsibility for taking the issue forward.

International Whaling Commission

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department is playing in recruiting more pro-conservation countries to join the International Whaling Commission.

Meg Munn: holding answer 19 October 2007
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Embassies and High Commissions in the relevant capitals discuss whaling with their counterparts at every appropriate opportunity. In particular, conservation-minded countries are encouraged to join the International Whaling Commission and play an active part in protecting whales. This ensures that these countries are in no doubt as to the importance that the UK attaches to whale conservation.

Japan: Whales

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department is playing in establishing the countries being approached by Japan to join the International Whaling Commission.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	UK diplomatic missions in the relevant capitals are briefed and engage in discussion with their counterparts on whaling at every appropriate opportunity. Posts are aware of the need to watch for indicators that countries may join the International Whaling Commission and adopt a pro-whaling stance. Countries are lobbied and are in no doubt as to the importance that the UK attaches to whale conservation.

Japan: Whales

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department is playing in discussions about whaling with countries that vote with Japan at the International Whaling Commission but have no vested interest in whaling.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	UK diplomatic posts in all the relevant capitals are briefed and engage in discussion with their counterparts on whaling at every appropriate opportunity. The UK, together with its like-minded allies, lobbies the Governments of the countries that vote with Japan at the International Whaling Commission to ensure that they are in no doubt as to the importance we attach to whale conservation.

Republic of Ireland: Diplomatic Service

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials of diplomatic rank who were responsible for or privy to  (a) the decision to dispose of Glencairn, County Dublin,  (b) its subsequent lease back to his Department and  (c) the purchase of Marlay Grange, Dublin have since 2000 (i) been raised to the peerage, (ii) received Knighthoods or the rank of Dame and (iii) been recipients of any other honours from the Queen.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	The decisions referred to were taken by Ministers after advice from officials. Many officials would have been privy to the decisions at that time and it is not possible to identify them all without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Honours are awarded to officials for exceptional public service.

Republic of Ireland: Diplomatic Service

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how many hectares comprised the Glencairn House and estate prior to its disposal; how many hectares have subsequently been leased back; what the rental cost is for each year of Glencairn's lease back to his Department; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the receipt from the sale of Glencairn House, County Dublin was; what the cost is each year of its subsequent rental; and what the total costs were of legal agents and other fees relating to its sale and subsequent lease back.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	I refer my hon. Friend to the report on the Rationalisation of the Glencairn Estate, Dublin produced by the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons which gives full details of the sale of Glencairn and purchase of Marlay Grange. The report is available at:
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/03-04/03041088.pdf.
	The Glencairn House and estate comprised 14.2 hectares and was sold for IR £27 million (£24 million) in 1999. The Ambassador remains in occupation of the house and its immediate curtilage. No land has been leased back since the sale, nor is any rent paid for the occupation of Glencairn House. Under terms agreed with the purchaser, the agreed portion of the sale price relating to Glencairn House and its immediate grounds of 2.87 hectares (IR £4 million, £3.5million approximately at today's rate of exchange) will only be payable when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office gives vacant possession. Total fees (legal and agents') relating to the sale amounted to about £170,000.

Republic of Ireland: Diplomatic Service

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  when his Department became aware that Marlay Grange, Dublin had an asbestos problem; why the asbestos was not revealed in the survey commissioned prior to its purchase; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the total cost was of the purchase of Marlay Grange, Dublin; what the subsequent cost to date has been of  (a) asbestos treatment and removal and  (b) all other refurbishment costs; what (i) other costs of maintenance of the buildings, (ii) other costs of maintenance of the grounds and (iii) other maintenance costs have been incurred; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 22 October 2007
	I refer my hon. Friend to the report on the Rationalisation of the Glencairn Estate, Dublin produced by the Comptroller and Auditor General to the House of Commons which gives full details of the sale of Glencairn and purchase of Marlay Grange. The report is available at
	http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/03-04/03041088.pdf.
	Marlay Grange was purchased for IR £8 million in 2000 (£6.258 million). An initial survey of the property, carried out in October 1999, showed that a comprehensive refurbishment would be required. However, this was not an invasive survey as the owners were still living in the property and would not permit one. The extent of asbestos only became known after the property was purchased, when the full survey was carried out in preparation for refurbishment.
	Up until mid-2004, we had spent £700,000 on works to Marlay Grange, which included asbestos removal, fees and security works. No refurbishment works have been carried out. Since mid-2004 we have incurred security and minor maintenance costs of £507,000.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the new peacekeeping force to be deployed in full in Darfur.

Jim Murphy: The full deployment of the mission will depend on how quickly the force can be generated and the necessary infrastructure and support put in place. This is being carried out by the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
	The Government are pressing for the full mission to deploy as quickly as possible, as my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, stated when he met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and African Union (AU) Chairperson Alpha Konaré at high level meetings in New York on 21 September.
	UN Security Council Resolution 1769 mandates the new AU-UN Mission in Darfur to assume authority from the current AU Mission in Sudan no later than 31 December, with a view to achieving full operational capability and force strength as soon as possible thereafter. We will continue to press all sides to meet this timetable.

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made towards finding a settlement in relation to the situation in Darfur.

Jim Murphy: The meeting led by the African Union (AU) and UN in Arusha on 3-6 August, attended by most rebel leaders, was an important step forward in the political process. Rebels expressed their commitment to participate fully in negotiations under AU-UN leadership, presented a common platform on key issues and urged the AU-UN to continue consultations with Darfurian civil society.
	The Darfur peace talks are due to begin in Libya on 27 October. We support the AU-UN Joint Mediation Support Team who will lead negotiations. They have developed a mediation and communication plan which should help to ensure effective civil society participation. We urge all parties, rebels and the Government of Sudan to engage fully in these talks and to be prepared to negotiate. Only a political process can provide a sustainable solution to the crisis in Darfur.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the situation inside Zimbabwe; what steps the UK is taking to provide assistance to the people of that country; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary regularly receives updates on the situation in Zimbabwe through our embassy in Harare, and met a member of the Movement for Democratic Change earlier this month to discuss the situation in person. Other Ministers and senior officials are in contact with members of the non-governmental organisation and civil society community and with the Zimbabwe diaspora in the region and more widely. The UK continues to provide up to £40 million in humanitarian aid keeping ordinary Zimbabweans alive. In conjunction with EU partners, we continue to apply targeted measures against President Mugabe and 130 of his elite. We ensure that the UN remains seized of the crisis and we continue to provide support for all those working for democratic change in Zimbabwe.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Post Offices: Access

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what meetings Ministers in his Department had with Royal Mail to discuss disability access to Crown post offices before 19 April; and what such discussions they have had since that date.

Patrick McFadden: I raised the issue as part of a wide- ranging discussion of Post Office-related matters with the Managing Director of Post Office Ltd when we met on 29 August.

Regional Development Agencies

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many regional development agencies outside London share foreign offices with the London Development Agency; and in what locations.

Stephen Timms: The London Development Agency has only one foreign office, in Beijing, and this is not shared with any other RDAs.

Regional Development Agencies: Finance

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) total budget and  (b) estimated administration costs are of each regional development agency in England in 2007-08.

Stephen Timms: The Regional Development Agencies' grant in aid and their administration budgets for 2007-08 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 000 
			   Grant in  a id  Administration 
			 Advantage West Midlands 296,165 20,896 
			 East of England 139,279 11,427 
			 East Midlands 178,624 16,500 
			 North West 402,315 38,236 
			 ONE 281,553 22,958 
			 South East 166,241 20,300 
			 South West 162,495 23,545 
			 Yorkshire Forward 309,976 19,919 
			 (1 )RDAs have other sources of income other than grant in aid (including European funding and coalfields funding). The Mayor approves the LDA's budget for administration.

World War Two: Medals

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether coalminers required to remain working in collieries during the Second World War will be deemed eligible for a Bevin Boy badge from his Department.

Malcolm Wicks: The purpose of the Bevin Boys Veterans Badge is to recognise those who were selected or volunteered as part of the Bevin Boys scheme. Although miners who were already employed in the pits and were exempt—along with railway and dockworkers, farmers, agricultural workers, schoolteachers and doctors, from conscription under the 1938 Schedule of Reserved Occupations—also made a similar contribution to the war effort they were not part of this process and are therefore not eligible.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Children

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prosecutions there were for selling alcohol to children and young people under the age of 18 in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) each police force area in each year between 1997 and 2004; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many penalty notices for disorder in relation to the sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age were issued in each year since 2004, broken down by police force area; and how many of these resulted in an unpaid fine in each area.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested on prosecutions for selling alcohol to persons under 18 years are provided in table 1.
	In addition to prosecutions, the offence of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 can attract a penalty notice for disorder (PND). The offence was added to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004, and information on the number issued with outcomes including the number resulting in an unpaid fine is provided in the attached table.
	Unless contested by the offender or cancelled, an unpaid PND fine is registered at the courts at an added 50 per cent. value and the offender is then pursued through the courts for payment. Data on the number of fine registered PNDs are also provided in table 2.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for selling alcohol to underage customers, England and Wales  1997 to  2005( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Police force  area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset — 22 3  1 — 2 — 14 
			 Bedfordshire — — — 1 1 1 2 7 10 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 7 — 4 2 — — 4 9 
			 Cheshire 5 14 10 6 — 4 16 20 8 
			 Cleveland — 2 — — 1 1 4 10 14 
			 Cumbria 4 11 4 — 2 2 1 1 8 
			 Derbyshire 11 7 6 8 3 — 37 22 13 
			 Devon and Cornwall — 9 1 2 — 1 — 12 8 
			 Dorset 2 6 1 — 3 — 9 10 35 
			 Durham — — — 1 — — — 2 2 
			 Essex 6 7 2 — 2 3 7 2 8 
			 Gloucestershire — 1 — — — — — 1 5 
			 Greater Manchester 21 27 21 22 20 39 129 180 117 
			 Hampshire 1 7 6 3 2 4 — 9 11 
			 Hertfordshire — 3 — 1 — 1 1 8 3 
			 Humberside — 3 — — — — — 11 2 
			 Kent — 1 — — 5 3 12 15 14 
			 Lancashire 17 3 6 1 13 14 23 22 89 
			 Leicestershire 1 3 1 1 1 10 15 10 27 
			 Lincolnshire — 2 — — — — 17 4 11 
			 Merseyside 8 3 — 1 — 14 42 19 16 
			 Metropolitan Police 13 13 17 2 19 12 113 167 253 
			 Norfolk 1 1 4 — — — 1 9 3 
			 North Yorkshire — 3 3 — — — 7 22 3 
			 Northamptonshire 5 2 — — 3 1 — — 11 
			 Northumbria 34 92 41 17 17 8 38 51 79 
			 Nottinghamshire 3 1 7 — — — 9 — 11 
			 South Yorkshire 2 4 5 14 22 — — 5 18 
			 Staffordshire 11 2 1 — — 3 8 5 20 
			 Suffolk 9 — 1 — — — — 1 3 
			 Surrey 3 3 1 — — 5 4 10 13 
			 Sussex 3 3 1 2 7— 8 4 4  
			 Thames Valley 2 4 2 1 3 — 6 28 15 
			 Warwickshire — 1 — — — — 27 26 7 
			 West Mercia 3 3 5 3 3 — 7 5 19 
			 West Midlands 11 14 28 18 8 10 20 45 76 
			 West Yorkshire 14 12 9 8 9 14 2 21 15 
			 Wiltshire — 2 — 2 2 1 6 10 23 
			 Dyfed-Powys 3 3 6 8 3 2 5 24 6 
			 Gwent 13 5 5 4 5 9 2 20 16 
			 North Wales 1 1 2 2 1 1 7 5 10 
			 South Wales 6 4 6 — — 7 29 34 55 
			 Total 215 311 205 132 158 170 616 861 1,084 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Covers the offences: Selling etc intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises under the Licensing Act 1964 S.169 A and B as added by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 S.1, Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18 under the Licensing Act 1964 S.181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1988 S.17, Sale of alcohol to a person under 18 under the Licensing Act 2003 S. 146 and Allowing Sale of alcohol to a person under 18 under the Licensing Act 2003 S. 147. Sections 146 and 147 of the 2003 Licensing Act only came into effect from 24 November 2005, so data prior to 2005 is not available. The first two offences cannot separately identify on and off premises consumption although both are covered by the statutes.  Source: RDS—Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued to all persons aged 16 and over for sale of alcohol to a person under 18, with outcomes, England and Wales 2004 and 2005( 1) 
			   2004 
			  Police  f orce area  Number issued  Paid in full  Fine registered  Contested in court  Cancelled  Outcome unknown 
			 Avon and Somerset — — — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire — — — — — — 
			 Cheshire — — — — — — 
			 Cleveland — — — — — — 
			 Cumbria — — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire — — — — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall — — — — — — 
			 Dorset 22 18 2 2 — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — 
			 Essex 7 7 — — — — 
			 Gloucestershire 127 99 22 127 99 22 
			 Greater Manchester — — — — — — 
			 Hampshire 2 1 1 — — — 
			 Hertfordshire — — — — — — 
			 Humberside 2 2 — — —  
			 Kent — — — — — — 
			 Lancashire 30 3 1 — 26 — 
			 Leicestershire 2 2 — — — — 
			 Lincolnshire — — — — — — 
			 London, City of — — — — — — 
			 Merseyside 2 2 — — — — 
			 Metropolitan 21 18 3 — — — 
			 Norfolk — — — — — — 
			 North Yorkshire — — — — — — 
			 Northamptonshire 1 — 1 — — — 
			 Northumbria 1 — 1 — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 9 9 — — —  
			 South Yorkshire 2 2 — — — — 
			 Staffordshire — — — — — — 
			 Suffolk — — — — — — 
			 Surrey — — — — — — 
			 Sussex — — — — — — 
			 Thames Valley — — — — — — 
			 Warwickshire — — — — — — 
			 West Mercia 1 1 — — — — 
			 West Midlands 6 4 2 — — — 
			 West Yorkshire 4 4 — — — — 
			 Wiltshire — — — — — — 
			
			 Dyfed Powys — — — — — — 
			 Gwent — — — — — — 
			 North Wales 1 1 — — — — 
			 South Wales — — — — — — 
			
			 England and Wales 113 74 10 2 27 — 
		
	
	
		
			   2005 
			  Police  f orce area  Number issued  Paid in full  Fine registered  Contested in court  Cancelled  Outcome unknown 
			 Avon and Somerset 56 51 4 — — 1 
			 Bedfordshire 2 2 — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire 11 11 — — — — 
			 Cheshire 49 46 2 — 1 — 
			 Cleveland 33 32 1 — — — 
			 Cumbria 23 23 — — — — 
			 Derbyshire 8 7 1 — — — 
			 Devon and Cornwall 82 75 7 — — — 
			 Dorset 22 22 — — — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — 
			 Essex 120 117 6 — — — 
			 Gloucestershire 42 37 5 — — — 
			 Greater Manchester 127 99 22 — 5 1 
			 Hampshire 67 58 7 — 1 1 
			 Hertfordshire 3 3 — — — — 
			 Humberside 45 41 3 1 — — 
			 Kent 10 4 6 — — — 
			 Lancashire 190 163 22 1 4 — 
			 Leicestershire 46 40 4 2 — — 
			 Lincolnshire 26 24 1 — 1 — 
			 London, City of — — — — — — 
			 Merseyside 73 57 15 — — 1 
			 Metropolitan 161 133 16 — 12 — 
			 Norfolk — — — — — — 
			 North Yorkshire — — — — — — 
			 Northamptonshire 39 33 4 — 2 — 
			 Northumbria 48 45 3 — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire 117 100 17 — — — 
			 South Yorkshire 107 98 9 — — — 
			 Staffordshire 19 18 1 — — — 
			 Suffolk 19 18 1 — — — 
			 Surrey — — — — — — 
			 Sussex 63 61 2 — — — 
			 Thames Valley 12 12 — — — — 
			 Warwickshire 3 2 1 — — — 
			 West Mercia 22 21 1 — — — 
			 West Midlands 114 99 13 — 1 1 
			 West Yorkshire 72 59 11 — 1 1 
			 Wiltshire 8 7 1 — — — 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 18 18 — — — — 
			 Gwent 20 18 2 — — — 
			 North Wales 58 46 10 1 — 1 
			 South Wales 123 108 13 1 2 — 
			
			 England and Wales 2,058 1,805 211 5 30 7 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Office of Surveillance Commissioners: Inspections

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities were inspected by the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners in each year since its creation.

Tony McNulty: Inspections of local authorities conducted on behalf of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner commenced in 2001 when 47 were inspected. The number of local authorities inspected in subsequent years as follows.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2002-03 189 
			 2003-04 184 
			 2004-05 111 
			 2005-06 151 
			 2006-07 184

Passports: Applications

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of first-time applicants were awarded UK passports from the Glasgow Passport Office within six to eight weeks of the date of application in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many first-time passport applicants in the UK who failed in their initial application for a UK passport were successful in their  (a) second,  (b) third and  (c) fourth attempts in the last period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many first-time passport applicants in Scotland who failed in their initial application for a UK passport were successful in their  (a) second,  (b) third and  (c) fourth attempts in the last period for which figures are available.

Meg Hillier: The Identity and Passport Service does not hold data on the number of attempts an applicant for a UK passport must make to have an application accepted.
	In the last five months, approximately 71,500 first- time passports were issued in Glasgow. Of these, 725 (1.0 per cent.) took six to eight weeks to complete as they were complex, non-straightforward cases.

Passports: Applications

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many first-time passport applicants in the UK had their initial application refused in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many first-time passport applicants from Ochil and South Perthshire had their initial application refused in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many first-time passport applicants from Scotland had their initial application refused in each year since 1997.

Meg Hillier: Information is not available in the form requested. Identity and Passport Service statistics record the final outcome of applications and do not show whether the applications were initial or subsequent applications. Records of applications that do not result in the issue of a passport are broken down between those that failed because the applicant did not hold British nationality and those that were unsuccessful for any other reason. No breakdown by area or by application type is available and the information is not held for years before 2002. The available figures are as follows.
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Total intake 5,507,748 5,650,771 6,140,667 6,543,122 6,429,927 
			 Total unsuccessful 30,131 33,613 34,094 39,085 38,251 
			 Percentage of total intake 0.55 0.59 0.56 0.60 0.59

Sussex Police: Working Hours

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average percentage of their time police officers in Sussex Police spent  (a) completing paperwork and  (b) on patrol in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Data on time spent on patrol offers only a partial indication of policing activity, but 61.1 per cent. of police officer time in Sussex was spent on front-line policing in 2006-07, which includes time in station completing incident related paperwork.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the reply provided by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 537-39W.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Age Discrimination

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent representations she has received on the application of age discrimination regulations to the sale of insurance policies and holidays to older people.

Barbara Follett: The Government are considering whether there is a case for introducing legislation to prohibit harmful age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services as part of an Equality Bill. A public consultation ran from 12 June to 4 September, during which time around 750 responses were submitted on the subject of the possible legislation prohibiting age discrimination. Insurance policy sales and age-targeted holidays were among the issues raised, most notably by organisations representing older and young people, industry representatives and individuals. Both issues were also fully discussed at consultation events held in London and Edinburgh. We will publish information about the responses received in due course.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Finance

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the total estimated annual cost is of  (a) salaries,  (b) pension contributions and  (c) bonuses of staff employed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Barbara Follett: When the new commission is at full complement, it is expected that the costs will be roughly as follows: salaries £20,000,000, pension contributions £4,400,000 and bonuses £400,000.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Manpower

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff are employed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Barbara Follett: There are currently 410 people employed by the commission including temporary staff. There are plans to increase the number to 518 by the end of the financial year.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Marketing

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much was spent on  (a) branding,  (b) marketing and  (c) website design in changing the title of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Barbara Follett: There was no additional cost involved in changing the name.

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Redundancy

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff employed by  (a) the Commission for Racial Equality,  (b) the Disability Rights Commission and  (c) the Equal Opportunities Commission were made redundant prior to the establishment of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Barbara Follett: No staff were made redundant from any of the legacy commissions. However, the three commissions ran voluntary severance schemes and the following numbers left the commissions: the CRE had 78 leavers, the DRC had 68 leavers and the EOC had 39 leavers.

Rape: Victim Support Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what meetings she has held with ministerial colleagues to discuss the possible closure of rape crisis centres.

Barbara Follett: This is an issue which I take very seriously and which I am discussing with other Ministers.
	This Government are committed to putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. The cross-Government sexual violence and abuse action plan which we published earlier this year sets out our commitment to supporting victims of sexual assault. We have increased the capacity and stability in support services for victims by extending the network of sexual assault referral centres, with the intention of 30 being in place by the end of this financial year. There has also been significant investment in the specialist voluntary sector, including rape crisis centres. That includes an increase in the funding made available this year.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Finance

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department  (a) allocated for spending and  (b) spent on (i) the arts, (ii) sport and (iii) heritage in each year since 1997 in 2007-08 prices.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 17 October 2007
	The table shows how much the Department for Culture, Media and Sport allocated and spent on the arts, sport and heritage from 1997 to 2007-08 in 2007-08 prices. Spend figures for 2007-08 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Sector  1997-98  1998-99  1999- 20 00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Arts
			 Allocation 250.9 248.8 281.0 287.9 297.7 337.7 384.4 408.8 432.7 442.9 420.3 
			 Spend 250.9 248.8 280.6 287.5 297.4 332.0 361.9 399.5 433.4 442.0 — 
			 
			  Sport
			 Allocation 64.0 61.6 63.4 63.3 80.9 127.8 108.0 157.6 158.4 188.2 186.4 
			 Spend 64.0 61.5 63.0 63.3 75.8 125.1 87.5 120.3 124.0 173.3 — 
			 
			  Heritage
			 Allocation 198.8 188.6 180.9 181.4 178.5 214.6 174.7 185.0 202.4 205.9 190.7 
			 Spend 199.0 185.7 177.8 180.2 167.0 178.7 173.1 182.2 174.3 193.6 —

Big Lottery Fund

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 8 October 2007,  Official Report, column 311W, on the Big Lottery Fund, which statutory bodies received grants, and for what purpose, in each year since 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 17 October 2007
	I am arranging for the tables to be placed in the House Library, listing statutory bodies, by organisation type, that have received Big Lottery Fund grants since 2004 and the programme name under which they have received those grants. A glossary, explaining the purpose of each programme, is also included. The information requested by year for each statutory body, including the purpose of each grant (approximately 2000 in 2005 alone), could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

British Bob Skeleton Association: Finance

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what criteria are used in deciding whether to fund a national sport governing body; whether recognition of that body by the international federation of that sport is taken into account; and how the criteria were applied in the case of the British Bob Skeleton Association.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The criteria used by Sport England to determine whether a national sports governing body received whole sport or one stop plan funding between 2005-09 was based on the sport's current ability to deliver mass participation and elite performance and the potential ability to deliver growing levels of participation and strong elite performance.
	The criteria used by UK Sport to decide whether to fund a national sport governing body through the world class performance programme are principally based on performance evidence—a combination of the past results and future medal potential of its athletes.
	For both Sport England and UK Sport recognition of that body by the international federation of that sport is taken into account, but is not in itself a determining factor. Additionally, under UK Sport's criteria, the right to compete in events under international federation control is essential
	In the case of the British Bob Skeleton Association, the decision to fund its current world class performance programme was based primarily on its being our most successful winter sport in recent years, having won a medal at both the Salt Lake City and Turin Winter Olympic Games.

Departments: Manpower

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were employed by his Department on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were  (a) permanent employees,  (b) temporary staff and  (c) contractors.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the information published by the Office for National Statistics in Table 6 of the Quarterly Public Sector Employment First Release for the latest year i.e. 31 March 2007 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pse0607.pdf
	For earlier years, I refer the hon. Member to Table A of the Civil Service Statistics publications shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Date of Data  Link 
			 Sept 2006 http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422 
			 April 2005 http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/reports/2005/tables_and_charts/index.asp 
			 April 2004 http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/managent/statistics/reports/2004/tables_and_charts/index.asp 
			 April 2003 http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/reports/2003/tables_and_charts/index.asp 
			  Notes:  1. Statistics are not collected or published for the reference date 1 January.  2. The Civil Service statistics represent those employees paid directly from the Department's payroll.  3. For 2005 and 2006 the Civil Service Statistics were not published with the permanent and temporary/casual breakdown. The information for 30 September 2006 is shown in the following table. 
		
	
	
		
			   Headcount p ermanent  Headcount t emporary/ c asual  Headcount t otal  FTE p ermanent  FTE  t emporary/  c asual  FTE  t otal 
			 Department for Culture Media and Sport 550 0 550 540 0 540 
			 Royal Parks 90 10 100 80 10 90 
			  Note:  Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 
		
	
	Any contractors are employed via agencies and so not paid directly by the Department or its agency. Information on contractors therefore cannot be provided.

Departments: Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since taking up his post on 28 June 2007, the Secretary of State has officially visited the north-west four times; the west midlands once; the east of England twice; and London seven times. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the ministerial code.

Gambling: Credit Cards

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with banks and other financial institutions which issue credit cards on the use of such cards in gambling; if he will bring forward proposals restricting the use of credit cards for gambling; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Government are committed to ensuring there are proper controls and safeguards on the use of credit cards for gambling, particularly for those most at risk.
	Under the Gambling Act 2005, credit cards cannot be used to pay for gambling offered by casino or bingo operators or be used to play gaming machines. The Act contains powers for the Gambling Commission and the Secretary of State to take steps to further regulate gambling and credit through licence conditions (sections 81 and 177), if the need arises.
	Where credit cards are permitted, under the commission's licence conditions and codes of practice, gambling operating licence holders have to comply with robust social responsibility requirements including conditions on the provision of credit by operators and the use of credit cards.
	DCMS Ministers have not had any discussions with banks and other financial institutions on the use of credit cards in gambling. However, the Gambling Commission keeps such matters under review as part of its functions.

Museums and Galleries: Fees and Charges

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much income was generated by entrance fees by each of the national museums and galleries in each year between 1995-96 and the abolition of such charging in constant 2007-08 prices.

Margaret Hodge: Table 1 shows the gross income generated by entrance fees to the national museums and galleries sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport from 1995-96 until 2001-02, in 2007-08 prices, and table 2 shows this income in cash terms. Free admission for all children to the charging national museums and galleries sponsored by the Department was introduced from 1 April 1999, and free admission for all those aged 60 and over became effective from 1 April 2000. The Victoria and Albert Museum reintroduced universal free admission on 22 November 2001. The other formerly charging museums that introduced universal free admission from 1 December 2001 were the Imperial War Museum (main site in Lambeth), Museum of London, Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, National Maritime Museum, National Museum of Science and Industry (Science Museum in London, and National Railway Museum in York), National Museums Liverpool, Natural History Museum (main London site and Tring branch) and Royal Armouries (Leeds and Fort Nelson sites).
	
		
			  Table 1: Gross income generated by entrance fees to the National Museums and Galleries sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport: 2007 -8 prices 
			  £ 
			  Museum/Gallery  1995-96  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Imperial War Museum(1) 4,144,736 4,172,435 4,568,354 4,735,122 4,158,447 4,574,048 4,134,561 
			 Museum of London 392,751 402,292 448,339 578,045 592,251 642,932 607,912 
			 Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 604,219 845,053 690,835 974,116 718,425 616,215 780,205 
			 National Maritime Museum 1,956,096 1,615,740 1,527,672 1,654,405 2,162,631 1,801,174 1,291,077 
			 National Museum of Science and Industry(2) 4,367,830 4,542,214 4,714,580 4,999,342 3,897,864 3,662,548 2,782,048 
			 National Museums Liverpool 399,546 337,872 647,600 705,115 555,617 403,725 296,510 
			 Natural History Museum(3) 4,449,370 5,549,257 5,649,577 5,918,733 5,195,931 5,216,903 4,288,305 
			 Royal Armouries(4) 54,360 64,419 76,639 105,892 561,722 611,629 383,325 
			 Tate(5) 407,700 433,844 427,901 484,611 435,945 429,826 479,745 
			 Victoria and Albert Museum(6) 199,227 1,617,839 2,842,518 3,039,332 2,181,340 2,846,197 1,666,651 
			 (1) Includes the Imperial War Museum at Lambeth and Duxford, the Cabinet War Rooms, and HMS Belfast. (2) Includes the Science Museum, South Kensington and the National Railway Museum, York. (3) Includes the Natural History Museum at South Kensington and Tring. (4) Figures for 1995-98 are for the Fort Nelson site only, because the Royal Armouries at Leeds was operated by Royal Armouries International (RAI) at that time. RAI ceased operating the Leeds site during 1999, therefore the figures from 1998-99 to 2001-02 include both Fort Nelson and Leeds. (5) Tate St. Ives. The figure for 1995-96 is estimated. (6) Includes the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington and the Theatre Museum. In 1995-96, South Kensington had free admission, but a voluntary donation of c. £4.50 was strongly suggested upon entry. Admission charges at South Kensington were introduced on 1 October 1996.  Note: Figures from 1999-2000 to 2001-02 are estimated.  Source:  Prepared with information supplied by the sponsored national museums and galleries, and calculated with reference to the CDP Deflator Table published by HM Treasury. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Gross income generated by entrance fees to the National Museums and Galleries sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			  £ 
			  Museum/Gallery  1995-96  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 Imperial War Museum(1) 3,049,840 3,173,731 3,576,521 3,800,909 3,405,394 3,799,064 3,516,248 
			 Museum of London 289,000 306,000 351,000 464,000 485,000 534,000 517,000 
			 Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester 444,605 642,783 540,848 781,928 588,325 511,809 663,527 
			 National Maritime Museum 1,439,363 1,229,000 1,196,000 1,328,000 1,771,000 1,496,000 1,098,000 
			 National Museum of Science and Industry(2) 3,214,000 3,455,000 3,691,000 4,013,000 3,192,000 3,042,000 2,366,000 
			 National Museums Liverpool 294,000 257,000 507,000 566,000 455,000 335,322 252,168 
			 Natural History Museum(3) 3,274,000 4,221,000 4,423,000 4,751,000 4,255,000 4,333,000 3,647,000 
			 Royal Armouries(4) 40,000 49,000 60,000 85,000 460,000 508,000 326,000 
			 Tate(5) 300,000 330,000 335,000 389,000 357,000 357,000 408,000 
			 Victoria and Albert Museum(6) 146,598 1,230,597 2,225,380 2,439,689 1,786,321 2,363,964 1,417,408 
			 (1) Includes the Imperial War Museum at Lambeth and Duxford, the Cabinet War Rooms, and HMS Belfast. (2) Includes the Science Museum, South Kensington and the National Railway Museum, York. (3) Includes the Natural History Museum at South Kensington and Tring. (4) Figures for 1995-98 are for the Fort Nelson site only, because the Royal Armouries at Leeds was operated by Royal Armouries International (RAI) at that time. RAI ceased operating the Leeds site during 1999, therefore the figures from 1998-99 to 2001-02 include both Fort Nelson and Leeds. (5) Tate St. Ives. The figure for 1995-96 is estimated. (6) Includes the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington and the Theatre Museum. In 1995-96, South Kensington had free admission, but a voluntary donation of c. £4.50 was strongly suggested upon entry. Admission charges at South Kensington were introduced on 1 October 1996.  Note: Figures from 1999-2000 to 2001-02 are estimated.  Source:  Prepared with information supplied by the sponsored national museums and galleries

National Lottery: Sports

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was distributed to sport from the National Lottery in each year since 1997, broken down by sports lottery distributor.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The table shows the total Lottery income to the sport distributors, for the last 10 complete financial years. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.
	
		
			  £000 
			   Sport England  Sport Northern Ireland  Sport Scotland  UK Sport  Sport Council for Wales 
			 1997-98 307,001,000 10,127,000 32,854,000 — 18,173,000 
			 1998-99 255,901,000 8,316,000 27,439,000 — 15,053,000 
			 1999-2000 210,868,000 7,163,000 23,585,000 18,932,000 12,625,000 
			 2000-01 226,931,000 7,709,000 25,850,000 24,010,000 13,911,000 
			 2001-02 228,026,000 8,004,000 25,739,000 25,615,000 14,171,000 
			 2002-03 193,745,000 7,197,000 23,337,000 21,461,000. 12,586,000 
			 2003-04 170,746,000 6,322,000 19,758,000 19,986,000. 10,522,000 
			 2004-05 179,868,000 6,924,000 20,936,000 20,978,000 10,895,000 
			 2005-06 183,328,000 7,130,000 21,263,000 21,550,000 10,943,000 
			 2006-07 124,909,000 6,258,000 18,494,000 53,912,000 9,458,000

Radio: Reviews

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether his Department plans to respond to the Ofcom publication—The Future of Radio;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to implement the proposals outlined in Ofcom's publication "The Future of Radio".

James Purnell: Earlier this year, Ofcom consulted on the proposals outlined in its publication "The Future of Radio". I understand that Ofcom is currently considering the results of that consultation and plans to publish its conclusions by the end of the year. I look forward to considering any proposals that it presents to Government.

Rugby

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to meet representatives of the English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh rugby football unions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have regular meetings with representatives of the English RFU and last met them on 9 July 2007.
	I have no current plans to meet representatives of the Scottish, Irish and Welsh rugby football unions, but am happy to do so.

Sports: Broadcasting

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what mechanisms he will use to review the list of sporting events which must be offered at a fair and reasonable price to free-to-view broadcasters; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: It remains the Government's intention to review the list of sporting events in around 2008-09. No decision has yet been made on the exact date and nature of the review.

Swimming Pools

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Olympic-size swimming pools  (a) there are and  (b) are planned to be built before 2012 in the (i) Yorkshire and the Humber, (ii) North, (iii) North West, (iv) South West, (v) East Midlands, (vi) West Midlands, (vii) East of England and (viii) London regions.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 8 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 334-35W, for information about the number and location of Olympic size swimming pools in Yorkshire and the Humber; North West; South West; East Midlands; West Midlands; East of England; and London regions. There are currently no Olympic-size pools in the Northern region.
	Since that reply, a new 50-metre indoor pool has been completed in Leeds (Yorkshire and the Humber).
	A further four pools are either under construction or have planning permission in Liverpool (North West); Sunderland (North); Hillingdon (London); Portsmouth (South East). Discussions are also proceeding on proposals to develop further Olympic size pools in the South West, East of England, East Midlands, West Midlands and London regions, with a view to their opening before 2012.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Antisocial Behaviour: Stoke on Trent

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Respect programme in Stoke-on-Trent.

Beverley Hughes: Stoke-on-Trent is one of 77 areas that have benefited from a close working relationship with the Respect task force. Complementing its broad range of approaches to tackle antisocial behaviour and its causes, Stoke has appointed a Parenting Practitioner to work with parents of young people who are involved in or at risk of becoming involved in antisocial behaviour, and has also developed a Family Intervention Project in the Meir neighbourhood. The Local Government User Satisfaction Survey shows that the proportion of the public who perceive a high level of antisocial behaviour in Stoke-on-Trent fell from 50 per cent. in 2003-04 to 31 per cent. in 2006-07.

Child Minding: Qualifications

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support the Government provides for child minders to obtain higher early years qualifications.

Beverley Hughes: In our Children's Workforce Strategy we set out a commitment to increase qualifications in the Early Years Workforce. We have a General Sure Start Grant (GSSG) allocation for 2007-08 that includes funding to local authorities to ensure that all early years education and child care workers receive appropriate training, development and support.
	We have a Transformation Fund of £250 million from 2006 until 2008 to help deliver our long term commitment to transforming the quality of early years child care. A main aim of the fund is to achieve a greater proportion of the work force being qualified to Level 3 and above.

Children in Care

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate is of  (a) the number of children in the care of a local authority who are placed outside that authority's area and  (b) the percentage of such children who are privately fostered; and if he will initiate a formal review of the guidance issued to local authorities on managing such placements.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 18 October 2007
	 The number of children looked after who were placed outside their responsible local authority area at 31 March 2007 was 18,400. This represented 31 per cent. of all children looked after on that date. None of them were privately fostered: children who are privately fostered are not 'looked after' by local authorities. Through the legislation to implement the "Care Matters" White Paper, we will strengthen the statutory framework so that a local authority may not place a child out of its area unless it is satisfied that such a placement is in the child's best interests. Statutory guidance for local authorities will be issued to support this.

Curriculum: Citizenship

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what response he plans to make to the recommendation of the National Foundation for Education Research Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study that the statutory citizenship curriculum be strengthened in  (a) status,  (b) credibility and  (c) visibility.

Jim Knight: Citizenship is a statutory part of the national curriculum for all pupils aged 11-16 and part of a joint non-statutory framework in primary schools alongside personal, social and health education (PSHE). The recent review of the secondary school curriculum undertaken by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) gave new impetus to the citizenship curriculum by adding a new strand entitled "Identity and diversity: living together in the UK", following the recommendation in Sir Keith Ajegbo's review of diversity and citizenship. The DCSF, in partnership with CfBT and the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT), is running a national support programme to help schools implement these changes. From January to April 2008, there will be one day regional training events targeted at subject leaders. A national subject lead for citizenship has been appointed, who will work with 27 new regional advisers to support local networking.
	We are also working with the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) to raise the status of citizenship with head teachers, providing a fully subsidised continuing professional development course for citizenship teachers to improve their skills, and developing a new, full GCSE and A-level in citizenship studies, in response to demand. In addition, guidance on the new duty for schools to promote community cohesion, which came into effect on 1 September 2007, makes clear that good citizenship education can make a significant contribution to this area and demonstrate schools' compliance.
	We will continue to work with the NfER and use the findings of the Citizenship Education Longitudal Study to inform future policy.

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many websites his Department operates; how many it operated at 1 January 2005; and what the estimated annual cost has been of running his Department's websites in the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: The Department runs 25 main Government websites (URL domains). In addition the Department operates a number of sub-sites falling under the main domains.
	There would be a disproportionate cost to provide the further information requested.
	The Department is working towards consolidation of all its websites. Public-facing content is being migrated to Directgov and business content to Business Link.

Departments: Internet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many hits the  (a) most and  (b) least popular website run by his Department has received since 1 January 2007.

Kevin Brennan: The Department's corporate website (www.dcsf.gov.uk), including the former Department for Education and Skills site (www.dfes.gov.uk), was the most popular during this period with 8,660,722 unique visitors. The Foundation Degree site (http://www.foundationdegree.org.uk) was the least popular with 62,619 unique visitors during this period.

Departments: Parking Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was.

Kevin Brennan: On receipt of a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) which results in a fixed penalty notice for parking, speeding, jumping of traffic lights etc., the driver of the vehicle will be highlighted and the details of the driver passed to the relevant authorities. At this point the matter becomes one between the authority and the driver. No record is kept of this information as it is still subject to appeal by the driver, and no costs are incurred by the Department as traffic offences are a matter for which the driver must pay directly depending on the outcome.

Departments: Standards

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many of his Department's public service agreement targets  (a) take account and  (b) do not take account of rural proofing.

Kevin Brennan: None of the targets underpinning the PSAs that my Department agreed in the 2007 comprehensive spending review themselves make explicit reference to rural areas. That is because the PSAs are about improving outcomes for all children and young people. However, in designing and developing policies to deliver the PSAs, particularly in the context of the forthcoming Children's Plan, the Department will take into account all factors which prevent children and young people from achieving those outcomes, including rural issues (in accordance with guidance provided by the Commission for Rural Communities and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)).

Departments: Stationery

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much the Department for Education and Skills spent on departmental branded stationery between 1 January and 27 June.

Kevin Brennan: The spend on departmental branded stationery between 1 January and 27 June 2007 for the former Department for Education and Skills was £11,990.14.

Free School Meals: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many school children in Leeds, West were in receipt of free school meals in the last 12 months; and what percentage of the total number of school children in the area this represents.

Kevin Brennan: The requested information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools( 1) : school meal arrangements( 2) , January 2007—England, Leeds local authority and Leeds, West parliamentary constituency 
			   Maintained nursery and primary schools 
			   Number on roll  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage  taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage  known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 England 4,148,390 544,370 13.1 658,910 15.9 
			 Leeds local authority 60,977 8,704 14.3 11,473 18.8 
			 Leeds, West parliamentary constituency 6,872 1,365 19.9 1,729 25.2 
		
	
	
		
			   Maintained secondary schools 
			   Number on roll  Number of pupils taking free school meals( 3)  Percentage  taking free school meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals  Percentage  known to be eligible for free school meals 
			 England 3,272,480 314,630 9.6 429,700 13.1 
			 Leeds local authority 46,620 4,950 10.6 7,452 16.0 
			 Leeds, West parliamentary constituency 3,937 647 16.4 986 25.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes boarders and dually registered pupils. (3) Number of pupils who took a free school meal oh the day of the census in January.  Note: National totals have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.  Source:  School Census

Intimidation: Internet

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will have discussions with colleagues in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to consider what steps can be taken to prevent use of the internet as a vehicle for bullying.

Kevin Brennan: The Government are committed to finding further actions which can improve the situation. The Department has launched an awareness campaign and issued guidance to schools, and we are in dialogue with industry to find the best way forward. In relation to all matters concerning the internet, we work closely with colleagues in other Departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.

Pupils: Safety

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what education is given to pupils about road safety; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department's "Safety Education: Guidance for schools" advises how schools can deliver safety education, which would include road safety education, within the framework of personal, social and health education. It also highlights how other parts of the national curriculum can be used to develop children's ability to assess and control risks to themselves and others.
	The secondary school curriculum has been reviewed this year by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The revised curriculum, to be phased in from September 2008, includes new programmes of study for personal social health and economic education. There is scope to cover road safety through the key concept of risk where pupils are taught that the
	"ability to recognise, assess and manage risk is essential to physical safety".
	It is for schools to determine how road safety education is provided to their pupils.

Schools: Sports

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) competition managers and  (b) sports co-ordinators for schools have been appointed; and what proportion of schools are in a school sport partnership.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 19 October 2007
	71 competition managers have been appointed. There are 3,602 sports co-ordinators in place. All maintained schools in England are part of a school sport partnership.

Schools: Standards

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what factors affected the decision  (a) to include pupils who have been relocated through managed moves to new schools in the new schools performance statistics and  (b) not to include in those statistics those pupils permanently excluded.

Jim Knight: holding answer 22 October 2007
	The excluded pupils' policy, in the achievement and attainment tables, was put in place to ensure schools that admitted pupils excluded from a maintained school were not penalised for doing so.
	Under this policy, the admitting school can request to have excluded pupils removed from the school's number on roll. Results for the excluded pupil will still count in the school's performance figures provided the pupil was permanently excluded from another maintained school. This ensures that the admitting school's performance results are not adversely affected by taking on an excluded pupil.
	Managed moves can be a good way of dealing with pupils who are at risk of exclusion, and offering them a fresh start, without going through the formal exclusion process. As they have not been formally excluded no special consideration is given to the counting of these pupils in a school's results. Pupils who move schools as a result of managed moves are attributed to the school where they were on roll at the time of the January School Census.

Special Educational Needs: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was allocated to special needs provision in each county in the East of England in each year since 1997.

Kevin Brennan: The requested information is contained in the following table.
	
		
			  Budgeted net expenditure on the provision of education for children with special educational needs( 1,2)  in the East of England Government office region (GOR): 2000-01 to 2007-08( 3) 
			  £ 
			   Budgeted net expenditure on the education of children with special educational needs( 1,)( )( 2) 
			  Local authority name  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 England 2,763,226,000 2,908,380,000 3,038,661,0sp00 3,466,180,000 
			  
			 East of England GOR 262,754,000 281,293,000 296,178,000 339,448,000 
			 Bedfordshire 19,250,000 21,011,000 18,838,000 24,669,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 31,017,000 33,352,000 36,290,000 44,958,000 
			 City of Peterborough 12,325,000 13,410,000 14,787,000 16,936,000 
			 Essex 62,904,000 68,285,000 69,328,000 75,876,000 
			 Hertfordshire 54,162,000 56,668,000 55,427,000 63,654,000 
			 Luton 9,136,000 9,321,000 14,765,000 15,673,000 
			 Norfolk 34,824,000 37,782,000 38,304,000 42,233,000 
			 Southend-on-Sea 8,867,000 10,222,000 10,653,000 13,096,000 
			 Suffolk 22,845,000 23,452,000 29,012,000 32,374,000 
			 Thurrock 7,425,000 7,788,000 8,774,000 9,979,000 
		
	
	
		
			  £ 
			   Budgeted net expenditure on the education of children with special educational needs( 1,)( )( 2) 
			  Local authority name  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08( 3) 
			 England 3,774,757,000 4,120,549,000 4,481,245,000 4,868,366,000 
			  
			 East of England GOR 371,652,000 393,061,000 431,678,000 473,841,000 
			 Bedfordshire 26,198,000 27,455,000 31,224,000 32,013,000 
			 Cambridgeshire 42,980,000 45,120,000 47,217,000 48,756,000 
			 City of Peterborough 18,620,000 20,337,000 23,188,000 24,838,000 
			 Essex 81,359,000 87,946,000 96,982,000 103,046,000 
			 Hertfordshire 71,970,000 75,794,000 79,344,000 87,928,000 
			 Luton 17,867,000 17,431,000 21,541,000 23,164,000 
			 Norfolk 44,946,000 48,604,000 51,472,000 60,953,000 
			 Southend-on-Sea 15,107,000 15,810,000 19,076,000 21,469,000 
			 Suffolk 41,529,000 43,991,000 50,159,000 57,750,000 
			 Thurrock 11,076,000 10,574,000 11,475,000 13,926,000 
			 (1) Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, local authority functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as "notional SEN" and the individual schools budget (ISB) for special schools. (2) The ISB for special schools will include some general education costs for pupils with SEN in addition to those costs specifically for SEN while the figures recorded against "notional SEN" are only indicative of the amount that might by spent by schools on SEN and, from 2004-05 onwards, "notional SEN" delegated to nursery schools was reported on section 52 for the first time (nursery schools "notional SEN" accounts for £687,000, £885,000, £1,018,000 and £1,045,000 of the respective 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 East of England totals). In 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 local authorities in the East of England also budgeted £55.8 million, £58.4 million and £60.1 million for SEN transport expenditure but this is not included in the above table as figures are not available prior to 2005-06. (3) 2007-08 data are subject to change by the local authority.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds and may not sum due to rounding. 2. Cash terms figures (see note 1) as reported by local authorities as at 16 October 2007. 3. The data are drawn from local authorities Section 52 Budget Statements (tables 1 and 2) submitted to the DFES. Data are not available prior to 2000-01.

Youth Services: Finance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many youth projects in each London constituency received central Government funding in each of the last five years; and how much was allocated to youth projects in London in each of the last five years, broken down by constituency.

Kevin Brennan: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not hold information relating to volumes of projects or financial information relating to constituencies. The following tables show London borough allocations from 2003-04 for centrally managed programmes which fund youth projects in the local areas. These are Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) holiday provision, the Neighbourhood Support Fund allocations from 2006-07 (prior to this NSF was administered by managing agents and the LA breakdown is not known), and from 2006-07 the new Youth Opportunity and Youth Capital Funds (YOF/YCF).
	
		
			  PAYP local authority allocations 2003-07 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Central London  
			 Camden 368,059 368,059 651,864 502,086 502,086 
			 Islington 368,503 368,503 652,635 502,680 502,680 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 224,578 224,578 414,779 319,475 319,475 
			 Lambeth 422,109 422,109 726,689 559,718 559,718 
			 Southwark 413,861 413,861 749,156 577,023 577,023 
			 Wandsworth 214,883 214,883 406,609 313,183 313,183 
			 Westminster, City of 400,828 400,828 704,963 542,984 542,984 
			 Total 2,412,821 2,412,821 4,306,694 3,317,148 3,317,148 
			   
			  London East  
			 Barking and Dagenham 271,392 271,392 469,076 361,297 361,297 
			 Bexley 74,163 74,163 188,891 145,490 145,490 
			 Greenwich 353,860 353,860 589,107 453,748 453,748 
			 Hackney 474,752 474,752 765,209 589,387 589,387 
			 Havering 25,655 25,655 161,842 124,656 124,656 
			 Lewisham 447,535 447,535 751,016 578,455 578,455 
			 London, City of 1,103 1,103 56,013 43,143 43,143 
			 Newham 587,783 587,783 977,508 752,907 752,907 
			 Redbridge 56,767 56,767 168,311 129,639 129,639 
			 Tower Hamlets 520,237 520,237 819,564 631,253 631,253 
			 Total 2,813,247 2,813,247 4,946,537 3,809,975 3,809,975 
			   
			  London West  
			 Brent 335.427 335,427 657,909 506,741 506,741 
			 Ealing 114,286 114,286 271,388 209,031 209,031 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 237,930 237,930 444,946 342,711 342,711 
			 Harrow 75,959 75,959: 170,123 131,034 131,034 
			 Hillingdon 101,438 101,438 435,587 335,503 335,503 
			 Hounslow 231,924 231,924 457,109 352,079 352,079 
			 Total 1,096,964 1,096,964 2,437,061 1,877,100 1,877,100 
			   
			  North London  
			 Barnet 42,299 42,299 330,446 254,520 254,520 
			 Enfield 239,216 239,216 541,020 416,710 416,710 
			 Haringey 281,419 281,419 586,232 451,534 451,534 
			 Waltham Forest 298,717 298,717 604,764 465,808 465,808 
			 Total 861,651 861,651 2,062,463 1,588,572 1,588,572 
			   
			  South London  
			 Bromley 35,306 35,306 187,507 144,423 144,423 
			 Croydon 60,871 60,871 535,716 412,625 412,625 
			 Kingston upon Thames 12,733 12,733 88,085 67,846 67,846 
			 Merton 20,903 20,903 134,893 103,899 103,899 
			 Richmond upon Thames 14,623 14,623 91,909 70,791 70,791 
			 Sutton 63,876 63,876 196,998 151,734 151,734 
			 Total 208,312 208,312 1,235,108 951,318 951,318 
			   
			 Overall total 7,392,995 7,392,995 14,987,864 11,544,114 11,544,114 
			  Notes: 1. The increase in 2005-06 is due to combining PAYP with the Uproject, a former lottery programme. 2. The drop in 2006-07 is due to the removal of general lottery funding contribution. 
		
	
	
		
			  NSF allocations 2006-08 
			  Local authority area  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Barking and Dagenham 97,127 97,127 
			 Greenwich 51,437 51,437 
			 Hackney 194,002 194,002 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 61,004 61,004 
			 Haringey 46,712 46,712 
			 Islington 159,346 159,346 
			 Lambeth 213,994 213,994 
			 Lewisham 87,158 87,158 
			 Newham 99,293 99,293 
			 Southwark 73,647 73,647 
			 Tower Hamlets 124,082 124,082 
			 Total 1,207,802 1,207,802 
		
	
	
		
			  YOF/YCF London allocations 2006-07 
			  Local authority  YOF  YCF 
			  Central London   
			 Camden 129,061 111,628 
			 Islington 136,353 117,935 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 131,229 113,502 
			 Lambeth 164,633 142,394 
			 Southwark 221,756 191,801 
			 Wandsworth 146,446 126,664 
			 Westminster, City of 157,158 135,930 
			 Total 1,086,636 939,854 
			
			  London East   
			 Barking and Dagenham 126,439 109,360 
			 Bexley 132,918 114,963 
			 Greenwich 208,487 180,325 
			 Hackney 160,908 139,173 
			 Havering 122,809 106,219 
			 Lewisham 197,690 170,985 
			 City of London 50,000 50,000 
			 Newham 200,779 173,658 
			 Redbridge 132,434 114,546 
			 Tower Hamlets 212,204 183,539 
			 Total 1,544,668 1,342,768 
			
			  London West   
			 Brent 178,245 154,167 
			 Baling 176,409 152,580 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 101,406 87,708 
			 Harrow 115,622 100,003 
			 Hillingdon 192,877 166,822 
			 Hounslow 145,726 126,041 
			 Total 910,285 787,321 
			  North London   
			 Barnet 199,556 172,600 
			 Enfield 195,755 169,313 
			 Haringey 185,315 160,283 
			 Waltham Forest 172,766 149,430 
			 Total 753,392 651,626 
			
			  South London   
			 Bromley 166,709 144,190 
			 Croydon 207,844 179,768 
			 Kingston upon Thames 90,000 72,201 
			 Merton 114,423 98,967 
			 Richmond upon Thames 90,965 78,678 
			 Sutton 114,350 98,904 
			 Total 784,291 671,708 
			
			 Overall total 5,079,272 4,394,277

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Anniversaries: Oliver Cromwell

David Kidney: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has for Parliament to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the death of Oliver Cromwell.

Helen Goodman: My right hon. and Learned Friend the Leader of the House has no plans for such a commemoration, which would primarily be a matter for the House.
	I understand my hon. and learned Friend will receive a substantive reply to this question from the hon. Member representing the House of Commons Commission.

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Leader of the House how many and what percentage of employees in her Office are above state retirement age.

Helen Goodman: The Leader of the House of Commons' Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. Although the Cabinet Office currently has a compulsory retirement age of 65 for all grades, staff have the right to request to continue working beyond this age.
	There are currently six employees in the Cabinet Office (0.4 per cent. of all staff) who are above the statutory retirement age of 65.
	Specific figures for the Leader's Office are not available. To protect the confidentiality of individuals, it is standard Government practice not to publish details relating to five or fewer individuals.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent by her Office on official hospitality in the last 12 months.

Helen Goodman: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons spent £5,823 in the financial year 2006-07 on entertainment expenses.

Draft Legislative Programme

Simon Hughes: To ask the Leader of the House if she will  (a) publish and  (b) place in the Library before 25 October all responses to the consultation on the draft legislative programme.

Theresa May: To ask the Leader of the House 
	(1)  if she will place in the Library a copy of the responses to the consultations received so far on the draft legislative programme;
	(2)  which organisations and businesses have submitted responses to the consultation on the Government's draft legislative programme;
	(3)  how many  (a) written and  (b) e-mailed submissions she has received since 11 July on the draft legislative programme in addition to those comments posted on the Cabinet Office website; and how many have been received from (i) individuals and (ii) corporations and organisations.

Helen Goodman: The Leader of the House of Commons has already committed herself to publishing a Summary of Consultation Responses, and she will do so at the start of the next Session.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Females

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the construction of the Women's Park in Lashkar Gar, Afghanistan; what the objectives of the project are; how much has been allocated to the project; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: The recently completed "Women and Children Park" in Lashkar Gar was funded through the Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) fund, administered by the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Helmand. QIPs in Helmand are funded through the joint DFID, MOD, and FCO Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). The GCPP QIPs fund has an overall budget of £9 million this financial year, including £3 million from DFID. The overall cost of the park was approximately £420,000.
	The park is providing much needed recreational space and facilities for the people of Lashkar Gar and the surrounding area, in particular women and children. It was built in response to identified local needs, and agreed by the Governor of Helmand and relevant Government of Afghanistan line departments. Construction of the park was implemented by the Afghan NGO, Helping Afghan Farmers Organisation (HAFO). Much of the work was carried out using local labour. One of the first major events hosted at the park was a US-funded agricultural fair to promote legal livelihoods attended by 1,700 Afghans.

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what percentage of employees in  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age.

Shahid Malik: DFID has 33 UK-based staff above the state retirement age as of the end of September 2007. This represents 1.92 per cent. of our work force.
	DFID does not have any staff in any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months.

Douglas Alexander: Total spend on entertainment within administration cost budgets in the last 12 months was £245,500.
	This figure includes working breakfasts and lunches, refreshments at meetings and official entertainment.
	All entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what methodology the annual net cash-releasing savings of £492 million per year by 2010-11 mentioned on page 238 of the Comprehensive Spending Review have been calculated.

Douglas Alexander: DFID, like all other Departments, has agreed to make value for money savings of at least 3 per cent. annual net cash-releasing gains on our total departmental budget and 5 per cent. annual real reductions in our administration budgets by 2010-11. As in the 2004 Spending Review, the methodology for assessing gains achieved by more poverty-focused allocation is based on econometric studies by Paul Collier and David Dollar showing that the impact of aid varies with countries' per capita income and policy environment. Gains are also generated by improved performance of DFID's portfolio, as measured by the scores awarded to projects in annual monitoring reviews.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the main element will be of his Department's value for money programme which will generate annual net cash-releasing savings of £492 million per year by 2010-11, as mentioned on page 238 of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Douglas Alexander: DFID, like all other Departments, has agreed to make value for money savings of at least 3 per cent. annual net cash-releasing gains on our total departmental budget and 5 per cent. annual real reductions in our administration budgets from a near cash resource departmental expenditure limit plus capital DEL baseline of £5,310 million. The gains on our programme budget will include allocative efficiency gains from more poverty-focused allocation of multilateral and bilateral aid, and efficiency gains from improved performance of our bilateral portfolio.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the increased capital expenditure for his Department announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review will be allocated.

Douglas Alexander: DFID's increased capital budget will enable us to increase our contributions to effective multilateral organisations. Alongside a growing bilateral programme, spending through the multilateral helps us influence and improve the quality of the whole aid system, rather than just the money we spend directly. Our capital budget will also be used to finance debt relief and capital investments in partner countries.

Indonesia: Overseas Aid

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what value of aid the UK provided to Indonesia in each year since 1997.

Shahid Malik: Details of the UK's bilateral assistance and imputed multilateral assistance to Indonesia since 1997 are laid out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: UK Total bilateral gross public expenditure on development in Indonesia 1997-98 to 2006-07 
			   £000 
			  Financial year( 1)  Bilateral expenditure 
			 1997-98 48,689 
			 1998-99 25,494 
			 1999-2000 58,812 
			 2000-01 28,405 
			 2001-02 18,232 
			 2002-03 42,613 
			 2003-04 17,449 
			 2004-05 34,526 
			 2005-06 58,553 
			 2006-07 62,290 
			 (1) Expenditure in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 includes post-tsunami humanitarian assistance of £11 million, £21 million and £19 million respectively. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Imputed UK share of multilateral aid to Indonesia for 1997 to 2005 
			   £000 
			  Calendar year  Imputed aid 
			 1997 2,264 
			 1998 1,781 
			 1999 3,971 
			 2000 8,151 
			 2001 7,540 
			 2002 4,704 
			 2003 15,132 
			 2004 9,384 
			 2005 12,485

Overseas Aid: Environment Protection

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) objectives and  (b) targets of the international Environmental Transformation Fund are; what criteria he plans to use to award grants from the fund; how much (i) was allocated to the fund for disbursement in each year since its inception and (ii) has been allocated for each of the next five years; and what research he has (A) commissioned and (B) evaluated on (1) the reduction of poverty through environmental management and (2) means of assisting developing countries to respond to climate change.

Douglas Alexander: The £800 million Environment Transformation Fund International Window (ETF-IW) will support development and poverty reduction through better environmental protection, and help poor countries respond to climate change. Detailed objectives, a delivery plan, broad resource allocation and monitoring arrangements will be agreed by relevant Ministers and an HMG governance board in consultation with key stakeholders over the coming months. It will be operational from April 2008. The £800 million will be committed over the next three years: £100 million in 2008-09, £200 million in 2009-10, and £500 million in 2010-11.
	The World Bank is proposing a multi-donor fund to scale up international effort on sustainable development and climate change. Funds from the ETF-IW will help capitalise this fund. We want to see an open consultation on how this fund should be set up and how we can target the UK resources going into it. We would like to work with donors, recipients, the private sector and civil society in the consultation to develop a truly multilateral solution to tackling the challenges of climate change and transforming countries' development paths.
	DFID, in partnership with the International Development Research Centre, is providing £24 million of research funding over five years to better understand the impacts of climate change in Africa, and to significantly improve the capacity of African countries to adapt to climate change in ways that benefit their most vulnerable citizens. We are also consulting on research priorities for climate change and poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean. On environmental management, DFID has recently concluded a research programme on forests and poverty reduction, the results of which are now being integrated into our policy making. We have supported additional research work on forests and poverty reduction through the World Bank and the Centre for International Forestry Research. We are in the design phase for a research programme on water resources management and energy, and we are scoping a project which will look at how ecosystems support poor people, from the household to national level. This project will also look at how improved management of ecosystems can result in improved services for the poor.

Overseas Aid: Expenditure

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the evidential basis is of the statement made on page 237 of the Comprehensive Spending Review report that his Department estimates that UK development assistance is helping to permanently reduce the number of people living in poverty by 3 million per year.

Douglas Alexander: The methodology used to estimate the impact of DFID spending on poverty is based on the econometric studies of Paul Collier and David Dollar showing that the impact of aid on growth varies with countries' per capita income and policy environment. The impact of growth on poverty reduction is estimated using an average poverty elasticity of growth. This enables us to estimate the number of people removed from poverty by our aid spending in a particular country. From this we can calculate the total numbers of people lifted from poverty by the UK's aid expenditure as currently allocated between countries; and the implications for poverty reduction of allocating our aid differently.

Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid and assistance has been provided by his Department for development in the Republic of the Congo.

Gareth Thomas: Information on UK aid for the Republic of the Congo is available in the DFID publication "Statistics on International Development 2007". This publication is available online at www.dfid.gov.uk. Relevant figures are reproduced in the tables as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1: UK Total Bilateral Gross Public Expenditure on Development 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			  Republic of Congo  £ thousand 
			 2002-03 580 
			 2003-04 2,071 
			 2004-05 2,928 
			 2005-06 106 
			 2006-07 466 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Imputed UK Share of Multilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) 2001 to 2005 
			  Republic of Congo  £ thousand 
			 2001 3,536 
			 2002 852 
			 2003 3,803 
			 2004 2,172 
			 2005 4,839

TRANSPORT

Driving Test

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the driving test in producing competent and safe young drivers.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The need for a fundamental overhaul of the systems for driver training and testing was set out in the Department's report on the second three-year review of its road safety strategy published last February. That promised a wide ranging consultation which will be launched later this year.

Train Overcrowding: East Anglia

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on overcrowding on railway lines serving destinations in East Anglia.

Tom Harris: We will continue to increase capacity through the franchising process and in other ways, such as the Cambridge Capacity Study.
	The White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, published this summer, includes the High Level Output Specification, which sets out the additional rail capacity the Government propose to buy to meet the recent and forecast growth in demand for rail travel.

Stagecoach

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many trains an hour will run from Kettering to  (a) London and  (b) Leicester under the new franchise arrangements with Stagecoach.

Tom Harris: The new franchise begins on 11 November, initially retaining the existing timetable. A new timetable is due to be introduced in December 2008. That is expected to provide a basic service of two trains an hour from Kettering to London and one an hour from Kettering to Leicester supplemented by extra trains at peak times.

Road Haulage

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made in reducing road haulage tonnage.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Strong growth in the economy means that the total tonnage of road freight has not reduced. Government policy is to encourage sustainable freight movements that make best use of all modes, including road. Progress is such that growth in road freight is now at a slower rate than economic growth.

Heathrow: Security Delays

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on delays caused by security procedures at Heathrow airport.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on delays caused by security procedures at Heathrow airport.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is paramount that the UK's aviation security regime is properly enforced. It is also clearly important that passengers are not unnecessarily inconvenienced by security measures.
	At Heathrow, as at all other airports, Government are working closely with industry to ensure that both objectives are fully considered.

Crossrail

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will make a statement on the timetable for implementing Crossrail.

Tom Harris: We hope that the Bill will achieve Royal Assent by next summer.
	The current programme indicates that the project design work would be concluded by early 2009 in time for the construction procurement process and the start of the enabling works.
	Main construction of the scheme would begin in 2010, and we expect the first trains to run in 2017 as part of a 12 month build up to the full Crossrail service.

Local Transport Bill

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions she has drawn from responses to the consultation on the draft Local Transport Bill; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We have received responses from a wide range of stakeholders and will be responding to these in due course.

Local Bus Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will bring forward proposals for the public to have more involvement in making decisions about local bus services.

Rosie Winterton: Proposals in the draft Local Transport Bill, published in May 2007, will give local authorities stronger powers to use on behalf of passengers in securing better bus services. We are finalising these proposals in light of responses to the public consultation and the recommendations of the House of Commons Transport Committee.

A69: Greenhead

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2007,  Official Report, column 1580W, on the A69, Greenhead, if she will publish the agreement made in 1983 between the Ministry of Transport and the Northumberland county council on the A69 Greenhead Diversion Scheme Project.

Tom Harris: It has not been possible to locate a copy of the signed agreement between the Secretary of State and Northumberland county council. However, the draft agreement as prepared for signature has been found and I am placing copies in the Libraries of the House.

Airports: Public Transport

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress has been made on the AirTrack proposals since BAA announced that they have agreed to provide the funding for the promotion of a Transport and Works Act (1992) Order for the project; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: BAA and Network Rail continue to work together to develop the AirTrack scheme. Although a TWA Order could be pursued by BAA, a considerable amount of work still requires to be undertaken, including decisions over funding the capital and revenue costs of the scheme, before such a scheme can be implemented.

Aviation: Security

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements she has put in place to ensure that medication taken into an aircraft cabin is required by the passenger.

Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no restrictions on non-liquid medicines. Passengers may take essential liquid medicine in cabin baggage if prior agreement has been obtained from the airline and the airport to carry the medication, and the passenger provides supporting documentation from a relevant qualified medical professional.

Departments: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance her Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 22 October 2007,  Official Report, column 45W.

First Group

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when she last met representatives of First Group; and what the subject was of their discussions.

Tom Harris: The last meeting that my right hon. Friend had with representatives of First Group was on 19 July 2007. This was an introductory meeting with the Association of Train Operating Companies. At the meeting the rail White Paper was discussed.
	I met a representative of First Great Western today to discuss rail services.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much her Department has spent on the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow process in each year since 2004; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  which other organisations also provided funding in relation to work carried out as part of the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow; how much was provided in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Expenditure to date by the Department has amounted to roundly:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2004-05 300 
			 2005-06 580 
			 2006-07 690 
			 2007-08 300 
		
	
	These figures include the costs of consultancy work but do not include departmental staffing costs.
	The Department does not hold information on costs incurred by other parties, the great majority of which will have fallen to BAA.

Heathrow Airport: Air Pollution

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she plans to apply for a temporary derogation in relation to nitrogen dioxide air pollution around Heathrow airport; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The possible need for such a derogation in the context of Heathrow airport will depend on the outcome of our forthcoming consultation on the future development of the airport, and on progress with the draft proposal currently before the European Parliament for a new directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe.

Lorries: M18

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will ban heavy goods vehicles from using the third lane of the M18 motorway north of junction 6 in both directions whilst the current roadworks are taking place and the inside lane is not in use.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency has no plans to ban heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) from using the third lane of the M18 motorway north of Junction 6 in both directions while the current road works are taking place. There is a 50 mph limit throughout the works and therefore HGVs should not cause a delay to other vehicles.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the compliance rate of the drivers of foreign registered passenger vehicles with civil and criminal legislation and regulation in England and Wales.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency's effectiveness report records compliance rates for foreign registered passenger vehicles stopped by VOSA. No specific research has been commissioned in this area.
	The effectiveness report can be found on
	www.vosa.gov.uk

Navigation: River Thames

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with Trinity House on the working hours regulation of pilots on the Thames.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 22 October 2007
	None.

Public Transport: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government has taken to improve the availability of public transport in  (a) the West Midlands and  (b) Coventry.

Rosie Winterton: The Government have invested in long-term public transport improvements in the West Midlands, including Coventry. Funding provided to local authorities in the West Midlands region for local highways and public transport capital projects has increased from £35 million in 2000-01 to £79 million in 2007-08.
	West Midlands has also benefited from significant investment in major bus schemes, with £45 million committed since 2001 to schemes that are realising major improvements in bus services. These include the Outer Circle Bus Showcase scheme in Birmingham and the Coventry Bus Network Primelines schemes. Additionally, the Government provided £4.1 million of funding for a new public transport interchange at Coleshill Parkway, which opened in August 2007.
	With regard to rail, Coventry and West Midlands has benefited from the £7.6 billion investment in the West Coast Main Line upgrade. Journey times from Birmingham to London have been reduced and by the end of 2008 the number of services on this line will increase to three trains per hour. Opportunities are also being taken to improve services as part of the new West Midlands franchise. London Midland will run additional train services from December 2008 between Birmingham and Northampton and between Birmingham and Liverpool.
	The Government's Rail White Paper sets aside £128 million for improvements to Birmingham New Street to increase passenger capacity at the station. The White Paper also sets out plans for increasing capacity by 26 per cent. between 2007 and 2014 on Birmingham services in peak periods through lengthening trains and extending platforms.

Railway Network

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will establish a dedicated unit within her Department to work with organisations working to re-open dismantled railways.

Tom Harris: We have no plans to do so. Regional and local authorities are best placed to judge the contribution that a re-opened station or line would make to transport provision in their areas. We therefore look to them to develop a business case and take forward proposals of this sort. The Department is always willing to talk to scheme promoters on this basis.

Railways: Fares

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions she has had with the train operating companies and others on ways to simplify and give greater coherence to rail fares.

Tom Harris: Officials from the Department for Transport have been having discussions on behalf of my right hon. Friend with the Association of Train Operating Companies. The simplified fares structure which we are proposing is described in paragraphs 10.22-10.30 of the White Paper "Delivering a Sustainable Railway", published in July. I expect the proposals to be implemented by all operators in the course of 2008, reducing the number of ticket types in use across the network and making it easier for passengers to know they have the right ticket for their journey at the best possible price.

Railways: Finance

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much of the £15 billion for rail infrastructure which she announced recently will be set aside for  (a) new stations and  (b) loops to permit slow trains on high speed train lines.

Tom Harris: The rail White Paper published in July set out the Government's objectives for the railways and committed £15 billion in overall Government support for the railway between 2009 and 2014 in order to achieve them. It is now for the industry to determine how the money available should best be allocated in order to meet those objectives. It is therefore not possible at this stage to say which schemes might receive funding.

Railways: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the ratio of capacity to passenger numbers on Arriva Trains serving Shropshire in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The following table sets out the average weekday loadings as of spring 2007 for Arriva Trains Wales services departing from Shrewsbury and Telford:
	
		
			   Number of services  Number of passengers  Number of seats  Average load factor (percentage)  Highest load factor (percentage) 
			 Departing Shrewsbury 103 5,053 15,848 31.9 100.0 
			 Departing Telford Central 36 2,947 5,628 52.4 116.4 
		
	
	The Load Factor (LF) set out in this table is based on the utilisation of seats provided (i.e. load factors of greater than 100 per cent. mean passengers will be standing.

Road Traffic: A14

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the most recent traffic flow data are for each section of the A14.

Tom Harris: The road can be considered in three lengths; from the M1/M6 motorway interchange to A1 west of Huntingdon, A1 Huntingdon to A11 east of Cambridge, and A11 to Felixstowe.
	The latest obtainable figures of traffic flow data are for the year to August 2007. The tables show annual average weekday traffic flows, which is defined as the average of flows for all weekdays (Monday to Friday) within the year.
	The tables show for each of these three lengths of the A14: the three busiest links between junctions on each length, the annual average weekday traffic flows for each length, and the highest daily traffic flow over the last quarter for each length. Both directional flows of traffic, eastbound and westbound, are shown.
	
		
			  A14 annual average weekday traffic flows( 1) —September 2006 to August 2007 
			   Busiest links on route  
			  Directional route  Start  End  Flow (vehicles per day) 
			 A14 M6-A1 A43 A6013 39,736 
			  A6013 A509 37,571 
			  A6 A43 35,193 
			 Average flow over entire route: — — 29,802 
			 Highest daily flow in last quarter (entire route average)—13 June 2007 — — 33,344 
			 
			 A14 A1-M6 A509 A6013 38,312 
			  A6013 A43 36,751 
			  A43 A6 35,202 
			 Average flow over entire route: — — 29,369 
			 Highest daily flow in last quarter (entire route average)—13 June 2007 — — 33,510 
		
	
	
		
			   Busiest links on route  
			  Directional route  Start  End  Flow (vehicles per day) 
			 A1 Huntingdon to A11 Cambridge (eastbound) A1126 A1198 40,069 
			  A1198 A1096 40,069 
			  A1096 M11 40,069 
			 Average flow over entire route: — — 28,782 
			 Highest daily flow in last quarter (entire route average)—13 June 2007 — — 32,652 
			 
			 A11 Cambridge toA1 Huntingdon (westbound) M11 A1096 40,628 
			  A1096 A1198 40,628 
			  A1198 A1126 40,628 
			 Average flow over entire route: — — 29,028 
			 Highest daily flow in last quarter (entire route average)—13 June 2007 — — 32,775 
		
	
	
		
			   Busiest links on route  
			  Directional route  Start  End  Flow (vehicles per day) 
			 A1 1 Cambridge to Felixstowe (eastbound) A11 A142 40,316 
			  A12 A137 31,383 
			  A137 A1189 30,466 
			 Average flow over entire route: — — 22,455 
			 Highest daily flow in last quarter (entire route average)—13 June 2007   25,753 
			 
			 Felixstowe to A11 Cambridge (westbound) A11 A142 43,339 
			  A142 A11 42,188 
			  A1189 A137 29,324 
			 Average flow over entire route: — — 26,479 
			 Highest daily flow in last quarter (entire route average)—17 June 2007 — — 26,579 
			 (1) Annual average weekday traffic flows (AAWT), is defined as the average of flows for all weekdays (Monday to Friday) within the year.

Road Works: M18

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason roadworks have commenced at the northernmost part of the M18 motorway on both carriageways while roadworks are still taking place just beyond the southern end of the M18 motorway on the M1; why such roadworks could not be phased so as to take place consecutively rather than concurrently; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: Work commenced at the northernmost part of the M18 motorway on both carriageways to carry out essential maintenance to replace worn out carriageway. This is running concurrently with ongoing roadworks already in progress beyond the southern end of the M18 motorway on the M1. Where necessary to avoid unnecessary delays and congestion, such work is scheduled to take place consecutively. However, during preparation of the project, traffic analysis techniques were used to ensure that the M18 work would not adversely impact on the M1 widening project. Evidence on site to date suggests that this has been the case.

Roads: Cameras

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether she has plans to allow safety camera partnerships to have access to  (a) information on whether a vehicle is (i) insured and (ii) has an MOT and  (b) other driver or vehicle information.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The police, who are an integral part of safety camera partnerships, already have access to such information.

Roads: Safety Measures

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps the Government have taken to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport is taking a great many steps to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain's roads, working with a wide range of partners. We published in February 2007 the second review of the Government's road safety strategy, which sets out what we have done, the progress that we have made, the issues which are our top priorities and how we intend to tackle those. A copy is in the Library of the House.

Speed Limits

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will list the locations of  (a) existing 20 mph zones and  (b) 20 mph zones under construction in England.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Local authorities are responsible for setting local speed limits and have had powers to introduce 20 mph speed limits and 20 mph zones without seeking the approval of the Secretary of State since 1999.
	The Department does not therefore hold information on the locations of existing 20 mph zones or 20 mph zones under construction in England.

Speed Limits: Safety Measures

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of 20 mph zones in reducing the incidence of child casualties and improving road safety; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Transport Research Laboratory Report 215 "Review of Traffic Calming Schemes in 20 mph zones", published in 1996, found that self enforcing 20 mph zones achieved an average 9 mph reduction in vehicle speeds, that accident frequency fell by 60 per cent. and that the number of accidents involving children reduced by 67 per cent.

Speed Limits: Schools

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if she will list the schools in England which have 20 mph zones outside them, broken down by local authority; and what percentage of schools in England have such zones outside.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 772-73W. The Department does not hold information on which schools fall within 20 mph zones or the percentage of schools that have 20 mph zones outside them.

Transport: Tickets

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the change in the cost of train tickets in real terms since 1997; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for the change.

Tom Harris: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The Office of Rail Regulation monitors fares nationally and publishes these quarterly in National Rail Trends at the following link.
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/330-rev3.pdf
	Regulated fares are on average, 1.6 per cent. cheaper in real terms than 10 years ago. Regulated fares are increased by an average of RPI+1 per cent. Where fares are unregulated, train operators must price these competitively against other operators and other modes.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departments: General Elections

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contingency preparations his Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs of those preparations were.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband) on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 823W.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: The estimated spend on Hospitality for the Department for Work and Pensions for the period October 2006 to September 2007 (inclusive) is £93,000.
	Any expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Propriety and Regularity.

Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: In the 12 months ending financial year 2006-07, £55.8 million was spent on early release payments. Over this period there were no compulsory redundancies.
	Early release payments relating to financial year 2007-08 are not available until the end of the reporting period.

Employment: Business

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the selection criteria were for those organisations invited to sign up to his Department's jobs pledge; whether steps were taken to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the scheme; what monitoring was undertaken of the impact of the scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Local employment partnerships (LEPs) are open to all employers willing to make the commitment to open up more job opportunities to disadvantaged people. However, a managed approach has been taken to our engagement with employers. Our initial focus has been on those major national companies who have demonstrated their commitment to working with us on recruiting those often overlooked in the labour market. We are now also targeting those larger local employers who have demonstrated the same commitment.
	LEPs are available to small and medium-sized employers provided they are able to offer opportunities to those at a disadvantage in the jobs market and to work with Jobcentre Plus, and its partners, on delivering the specific measures that are agreed. Each LEP agreement is different, tailored to the needs of the individual employer.
	It is too early to evaluate the impact of LEPs, but evaluation of the initiative is included in the project plan. A system has been put in place to measure progress towards the target of finding work for 250,000 disadvantaged people through LEPs by the end of 2010.

Employment: Pensioners

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2007,  Official Report, columns 2283-84 on employment: pensioners; how many of those working beyond retirement age  (a) gave financial reasons as the explanation for continuing to work and  (b) said they would prefer not to work.

Mike O'Brien: We do not have data on numbers, however our extensive quantitative research provides us with proportions that are representative of the group.
	There is no fixed retirement age, but our survey showed that of those working after state pension age:
	37 per cent. said they did so because they enjoyed their job/working;
	13 per cent. said they wanted to keep fit and active;
	22 per cent. said they did so to improve their financial position;
	7 per cent. said they could not afford to retire earlier;
	5 per cent. said they wanted to improve their pension.
	We do not have data to show how many would prefer not to work.
	 Source: Factors affecting the labour market participation of older people, DWP Research Report 200, CDS 2003.

Fuel Direct Scheme

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average level of fuel direct payment was for  (a) gas and  (b) electricity to each supplier in the last full year for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Average weekly payments under the Fuel Direct scheme to gas suppliers, Great Britain; 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007 
			  Creditor number  Supplier  Average payment (£) 
			 0000011814 Powergen 15.41 
			 0000013614 NPower LTD 16.07 
			 0000013653 NPower LTD 15.27 
			 0000020024 British Gas Trading 14.21 
			 0000020030 British Gas 15.78 
			 0000025008 EDF Energy 14.52 
			 0000025010 Enviroenergy Ltd. 13.58 
			 000002501 1 Amerada (SWEB Gas) 8.23 
			 0000030006 EDF Energy 14.39 
			 0000030141 Scottish Power 14.92 
			 0000030201 Scottish and Southern Energy 12.91 
			 0000030333 SWALEC PLC 15.89 
			 0000030397 EDF Energy 14.96 
			 0000030460 Powergen 15.02 
			 0000030648 Powergen 15.78 
			 0000030725 Calor Gas Ltd. 13.09 
			 0000030928 EDF Energy 16.55 
			 0000031043 Flogas UK Ltd 21.49 
			 0000031099 Atlantic Electric and Gas 16.45 
			 0000031192 BP LPG UK 23.94 
			 0000031360 Countrywide Energy (Gas) 9.98 
			  Note: Some suppliers have more than one account to which payments are made for both gas and electricity, where this is the case the average for each account is shown. 
		
	
	
		
			  Average weekly payments under the Fuel Direct scheme to electricity suppliers, Great Britain; 1 October 2006 to 30 September 2007 
			  Creditor number  Supplier  Average payment (£) 
			 0000010002 Powergen 15.11 
			 0000016001 Powergen 15.91 
			 0000016012 Powergen 16.59 
			 0000016024 EDF Energy 14.43 
			 0000016035 NPower LTD 16.81 
			 0000016037 NPower LTD 16.87 
			 0000016047 Scottish Power 15.56 
			 0000016052 EDF Energy 16.16 
			 0000016058 SWALEC PLC 16.61 
			 0000016062 EDF Energy 15.94 
			 0000016065 Scottish and Southern Energy 14.03 
			 0000030393 British Gas 13.97 
			 0000030903 EDF Energy 15.29 
			 0000031084 Atlantic Electric and Gas 17.86 
			 0000031116 Good Energy Ltd. 13.98 
			 0000031289 Ecotricity 12.93 
			 0000031314 Utility Warehouse 20.90 
			 0000031315 Countrywide Farmers Energy 30.03 
			  Note: Some suppliers have more than one account to which payments are made for both gas and electricity, where this is the case the average for each account is shown.

Funeral Payments

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support is available to people on low incomes for funeral expenses; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Funeral payments from the social fund may provide help with funeral expenses to people on a low income where someone has died and there are insufficient funds available for the burial or cremation. The person seeking help must have been awarded a qualifying income-related benefit or tax credit and have good reason for taking responsibility for the funeral arrangements. This is to ensure that available resources go to those who are least well off.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on the flexibility afforded by his Department's guidance for the payment of local housing allowance.

James Plaskitt: The Department has received a wide range of representations about all aspects of local housing allowance.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact on the number of landlords providing tenancies to people in receipt of housing benefit of the implementation of local housing allowance.

James Plaskitt: An assessment of the likely impact of landlords providing accommodation to those on local housing allowance was made for the Regulatory Impact Assessment that was carried out prior to the introduction of the Welfare Reform Bill 2006. This assessment recognised that a potential risk of the policy was that some landlords might choose not to supply accommodation to those on local housing allowance. However, evidence gathered from the local housing allowance pathfinder areas shows that, overall, the supply of accommodation to local housing allowance recipients increased by around 7 per cent. during the evaluation period.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that vulnerable people in receipt of local housing allowance can choose for the benefit to be paid directly to their landlords.

James Plaskitt: Anyone can request to have their local housing allowance paid directly to their landlord. The legislative requirement is for local authorities to make payments direct to the landlord where the authority considers that the customer is likely to have difficulty in relation to the management of their financial affairs.
	The Department has provided comprehensive guidance to local authorities to support the implementation of local housing allowance and has consulted fully with a range of welfare rights organisations on the delivery of direct payments to housing benefit customers. In addition to this, we have provided local authorities with best practice for implementing the local housing allowance scheme which incorporates the safeguard policy for customers who may find it difficult to manage their own financial affairs. We have recently undertaken 19 regional seminars for local authorities, which included making recommendations for applying the safeguard policy.
	Within the legislation there is also provision to make payment direct to the landlord where the customer has arrears of eight weeks or more. This is mandatory where it is in the overriding interests of the customer.

Incapacity Benefit: Jobcentre Plus

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit advisers are employed by Jobcentre Plus.

Caroline Flint: There are currently an estimated 1,215 incapacity benefit personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus.

Long-Term Unemployed

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to increase the environmentally sustainable mobility of the long-term unemployed engaged under the Jobs Pledge created under the local employment partnerships, to enable them to travel to and from their place of work.

Caroline Flint: For those participating in the New Deals, agreement has been reached with the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and Passenger Transport Executives to offer reduced fares.
	For those starting work, Jobcentre Plus advisers have at their discretion the ability to pay for help to get to work, which has included paying for bicycles for customers. These provisions can apply to a range of jobless customers including those who subsequently find work through Local Employment Partnerships. Once in work, arrangements for on-going travelling to and from work are a matter for individuals themselves.

Maintenance: Children

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the timescale for the transfer of Child Support Agency cases being dealt with under the old rules to Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (CMEC) rules in  (a) Scotland and  (b) Angus constituency after the establishment of CMEC.

James Plaskitt: Parents with care on benefits will be able to leave the statutory scheme and move into voluntary arrangements from late 2008. The transfer of cases for those remaining is expected to begin in 2010 and take around three years to complete. The Commission will prepare detailed plans for the transfer.

Means Tested Benefits: Pensioners

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners have been subject to means testing for the purpose of determining benefit entitlement in each year since 1993.

Mike O'Brien: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Beneficiaries aged 60 and over of income-related benefits as a percentage of the population aged 60 and over 
			  Mid-year  Percentage 
			 1993 37 
			 1994 36 
			 1995 34 
			 1996 33 
			 1997 32 
			 1998 31 
			 1999 30 
			 2000 29 
			 2001 28 
			 2002 27 
			 2003 27 
			 2004 30 
			  Notes: 1. Income-related benefits are: pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit and income-based jobseeker's allowance (and predecessors of these benefits). 2. Beneficiaries is the sum of claimants aged 60 or over and claimants' partners aged 60 or over. 3. Figures are for Great Britain, in May of each year. 4. Overlaps between benefits have been removed. 5. Housing benefit data excludes any extended payment cases. 6. Council tax benefit data excludes second adult rebate cases. 7. Percentage for population has been calculated using the revised Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for age group 60 and over. 8. Figures based on one per cent. and five per cent. samples are subject to sampling variation. 9. Data is only available up to 2004 as overlaps between HB/CTB and other benefits can only be removed by using the 1 per cent. annual HB/CTB data, for which the latest data is still May 2004.  Source:  DWP Information Centre 1 per cent., five per cent. samples and 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data.

Members: Correspondence

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington will answer the letter of the 29 May 2007 from the hon. Member for Birkenhead.

James Plaskitt: This Department has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the right hon. Member would care to re-send the letter, a reply will be provided as soon as possible.

Members: Correspondence

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform will answer the letter of 24 August 2007 from the hon. Member for Birkenhead.

James Plaskitt: This Department has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the right hon. Member would care to re-send the letter, a reply will be provided as soon as possible.

National Insurance Contributions

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of people in  (a) Cambridgeshire and  (b) the United Kingdom who hold National Insurance numbers and have made National Insurance contributions have made the required level of contributions to qualify for the basic state pension during each of the last 10 tax years.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 8 October 2007
	Information is only available for the United Kingdom as a whole and is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of people in the UK who have paid, been treated as having paid or been credited with national insurance contributions and numbers who have gained a qualifying year as a result 
			  Thousand 
			  Tax year  Total with any contributions  Total with enough contributions to gain a qualifying year 
			 1994-95 31,511 27,170 
			 1995-96 31,800 27,853 
			 1996-97 32,037 28,045 
			 1997-98 32,015 28,519 
			 1998-99 32,248 28,787 
			 1999-2000 32,706 29,400 
			 2000-01 32,998 29,916 
			 2001-02 33,156 30,099 
			 2002-03 33,336 30,240 
			 2003-04 33,307 30,066 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are shown to the nearest thousand 2. Some people may not have passed the first qualifying condition to receive a basic state pension in that they may not have paid at least one year of national insurance contributions. 3. Some people may not have passed the second qualifying condition in that they may not have accrued entitlement to at least 25 per cent. of the full basic state pension.  Source: One per cent DWP Information Directorate datasets

Pensions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensions were paid into the wrong bank accounts in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available in the format requested. There are many reasons why pensions could be paid into the wrong bank account. This could be due to departmental, customer or bank error.

Pensions: Carers

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to improve the state pension entitlement of people who stay at home to care for  (a) children and  (b) elderly relatives.

Mike O'Brien: People who are bringing up children or caring for severely disabled people can already protect their state pension through measures such as Home Responsibilities Protection and carer's allowance credits.
	The Pensions Act 2007 makes further changes that will make it easier for people with caring responsibilities to build up state pension provision and will ensure that caring contributions are valued equally with paid contributions. This includes the replacement of Home Responsibilities Protection with weekly national insurance credits for those receiving child benefit for children aged up to 12, approved foster carers and those caring for severely disabled people for at least 20 hours a week. These credits will give entitlement to both the basic state pension and state second pension.
	These changes will extend state pension coverage and provide simpler and fairer state pensions for carers, including those people who stay at home to look after children or to care for severely disabled people such as elderly relatives.

Pensions: Expenditure

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the net annual cost for each year from 2008 to 2025 of  (a) paying the basic state pension at its current level, increased annually in line with average earnings to (i) all pensioners and (ii) all pensioners who have accrued at least 30 years of national insurance contributions,  (b) raising the basic state pension to the current level of the pensions credit guarantee, increased annually in line with average earnings and paying it to (A) all pensioners and (B) all pensioners who have accrued at least 30 years of national insurance contributions and  (c) raising the basic state pension to 60 per cent. of median population income, increased annually in line with average earnings and paying it to (1) all pensioners and (2) all pensioners who have accrued at least 30 years of national insurance contributions.

James Plaskitt: The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of people who have moved off jobseeker's allowance onto  (a) incapacity benefit and  (b) income support in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number and percentage of jobseeker's allowance terminations who flow onto incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and income support 
			Flow onto incapacity benefit / severe disablement allowance  Flow onto income support 
			  Year ending February  Jobseeker's allowance terminations  Number  P ercentage  Number  P ercentage 
			 1998 3,472,400 596,600 17.2 548,800 15.8 
			 1999 3,008,300 464,200 15.0 443,000 14.3 
			 2000 3,120,200 442,700 14.2 423,300 13.6 
			 2001 2,903,600 406,200 14.0 392,500 13.5 
			 2002 2,661,500 347,900 13.1 328,600 12.3 
			 2003 2,624,800 321,800 12.3 304,000 11.6 
			 2004 2,538,400 284,800 11.2 260,700 10.3 
			 2005 2,320,100 237,900 10.3 205,700 8.9 
			 2006 2,196,900 188,700 8.6 162,100 7.4 
			 2007 2,243,100 151,200 6.7 127,900 5.7 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  2. Figures for the latest year do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate five per cent. sample and five per cent. terminations dataset.

Social Security Benefits: Chronically Sick

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department provides financial support to terminally ill people without an estate, next of kin or life insurance, to assist them in making personal arrangements for their funerals.

James Plaskitt: The Department does not provide financial support to people to assist them in making arrangements for their own funerals.
	However, where someone has died and there are insufficient funds available for the burial or cremation, help may be available to a third party through the social fund. The person seeking help must have been awarded a qualifying income-related benefit or tax credit and have good reason for taking responsibility for the funeral arrangements. This is to ensure that available resources go to those who are least well off.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) sanctions for benefit fraud there were in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by benefit.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available regarding the number of benefit fraud sanctions broken down by benefit for both DWP and local authorities. Information is not available for the number of prosecutions by local authorities broken down by benefit. The available information regarding the number of prosecutions by DWP broken down by benefit is in the following table:
	
		
			  Benefit fraud prosecutions by DWP broken down by benefit 2006-07 
			  Benefit  Number of cases 
			 Disability Living Allowance 229 
			 Carers Allowance 36 
			 Incapacity Benefit 509 
			 Income Support 3,345 
			 Contributory Jobseeker's Allowance 31 
			 Income Based Jobseeker's Allowance 718 
			 Pension Credit 56 
			 Retirement Pension 7 
			 Training Allowances 4 
			 Bereavement Benefits 7 
			 Council Tax Benefit 824 
			 Housing Benefit 821 
			 Others 51 
			  Notes: 1. The figures do not include General Matching Service cases. 2. There is a potentially some overlap in the figures. For example, someone prosecuted for an offence related to their claim for income support or jobseeker's allowance may also be counted in the figures for incapacity benefit, housing benefit or council tax benefit. For this reason, the figures cannot be added up to calculate the total number of prosecutions. 3. Figures are for prosecutions not convictions. 4. Although DWP do not administer housing benefit and council tax benefit, cases prosecuted by DWP where the recipient also receives housing benefit or council tax benefit are recorded. 5. Local authorities also prosecute offences where housing benefit and council tax benefit are in payment. However, these are not available broken down by benefit.  Source:  Fraud Information By Sector computer system.

Winter Fuel Payments: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for winter fuel payments were made in the Leeds, West constituency in each year since their introduction.

Mike O'Brien: Information relating to winter fuel payments for the winters of 1997-98 and 1998-99 is not available. The information from winter 1999-2000 is in the following table.
	
		
			  Leeds, West Constituency 
			   Payments  m ade 
			 1999-2000 13,870 
			 2000-01 14,920 
			 2001-02 14,790 
			 2002-03 14,680 
			 2003-04 14,480 
			 2004-05 14,030 
			 2005-06 13,890 
			 2006-07 13,910 
			  Notes:  1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.  2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the ONS postcode directory.   Source:  Information directorate 100 per cent. data.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to announce the opening of the consultation period on his announced changes to air passenger duty.

Angela Eagle: The Government are currently consulting informally with stakeholders and will publish a formal consultation document at the start of the new year.

Air Passenger Duty

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on tax revenue of his recent announcement on changes to the structure of air passenger duty.

Angela Eagle: Details are set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report and in the pre-Budget report note (PBRN 24) published by HM Revenue and Customs on 9 October 2007 (www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2007/pbrn24.pdf).

Child Benefit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for child benefit in respect of children living outside the UK that have yet to be concluded originated in each Government office region.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Corporation Tax

Adam Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what change there will be in the amount of corporation tax a business with profits of £100,000 will pay in the 2007-08 financial year as a result of the measures announced in the 2007 budget.

Jane Kennedy: The amount of tax payable by an individual company is dependent on the specific circumstances of the company.

Departments: Cost Effectiveness

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what efficiency savings his Department was required to make as part of its Spending Review 2004 (SR04) targets; what efficiency projects have been undertaken in the Department in pursuit of those targets; on what date each was initiated; and how much each was predicted to contribute to the SR04 target.

Angela Eagle: HM Treasury's plans for delivering its Spending Review 2004 efficiency savings are set out in its Efficiency Technical Note. In addition to publishing its efficiency plans, HM Treasury also regularly publishes its performance against these plans in its Annual Report and Accounts (previously its Departmental Report) (published each spring) and its Autumn Performance Report. These are all available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Departments: Flexitime

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many outstanding hours were held by staff in his Department as a result of its flexi-time scheme at the end of each of the last 12 months.

Angela Eagle: Operation of flexi-time in the Treasury is supervised by individual line managers. The information requested is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many citizens' juries were arranged for  (a) his Department and  (b) his Department's agencies in each year since 1997; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the cost was of each.

Angela Eagle: None.

Dietary Supplements: Channel Islands

David Tredinnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the Exchequer of low-value consignment relief made available to businesses based in the Channel Islands for the import into the United Kingdom of food supplements and herbal remedies which either contain illegal ingredients or are marketed with illegal claims; what steps officials of his Department plan to take to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs addresses this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: No estimate has been made.
	HMRC continue to enforce their border controls to prevent the import of prohibited goods.

Domicile

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the  (a) number and  (b) proportion of non-domiciles who have been resident in the UK for more than seven years.

Jane Kennedy: The best estimate of how many non-domiciled individuals are resident in the UK is based on the number of people who indicate non-domicile tax status on their self assessment tax returns.
	As at September 2007, self assessment records show that approximately 23,000 individuals had indicated non-domicile status through their self assessment returns in more than seven years in the period 1996-97 to 2005-06. This amounts to approximately 8 per cent. of the total number of individuals indicating non-domicile status over this period.

Hotels: South West Region

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effect on investment in the hotel and hospitality industry in the South West of the abolition of the hotel building allowance.

Jane Kennedy: The Government's decision to withdraw industrial buildings allowances, including the extension for qualifying hotels, was based on an assessment of a number of issues, common across industry sectors. The Government have not sought to target the hotel and hospitality industry or any other industry with this change.
	Industrial buildings allowances (IBAs) were extended to qualifying hotels in 1978. Capital allowances are not normally available on commercial buildings, so IBAs have long been recognised as a significant distortion in commercial property investment. They have become a poorly focused subsidy, selectively available on a disparate range of assets, including some that typically appreciate in value. These issues are compounded by the compliance burden imposed by their complicated rules. The withdrawal of IBAs was not an isolated measure. The 2007 Budget also announced cuts in both the basic rate of income tax and the main rate of corporation tax and crucially for hospitality, as a key sector making ongoing capital investment, the package of reforms also includes a brand new investment incentive in the form of a new Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) from 2008. The AIA gives 100 per cent. tax relief for capital investment up to £50,000 per year. For many small hoteliers—regardless of their corporate or unincorporated status—this will represent a significant incentive for new capital investment. Our analysis has shown us that the new allowance will be sufficient to allow over 95 per cent. of UK businesses to simply 'write-off'' their investment in plant and machinery (excluding cars) for tax purposes each year. Taken as a whole these reforms to the business and personal tax systems are designed to deliver increases in investment and growth.

Identity Cards: Costs

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the identity cards programme to his Department.

Andy Burnham: The Identity Cards programme is being delivered by the Home Office.
	The programme will not impose any costs on the Treasury.

Individual Savings Account

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will increase the amount which may be invested in an individual savings account.

Kitty Ussher: Budget 2007 announced an increase in the annual individual savings accounts investment limit from April 2008 to £7,200, with an increase in the cash limit to £3,600.

Inheritance Tax

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the likely total cost of the changes to inheritance tax which were announced on 9 October for each year from 2007-08 to 2012-13; and if he will break down the figure to show the changes for each income decile.

Jane Kennedy: Published figures for the estimated costs of the changes announced on 9 October to inheritance tax are published in the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review.
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/6/7/pbr_csr07_chapter1_207_pdf
	Figures are not available to show the breakdown of the changes for each income decile.

Inheritance Tax

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which team in his Department is responsible for developing policy on inheritance tax;
	(2)  on what date he decided his plans for inheritance tax that he announced on 9th October 2007.

Jane Kennedy: The development of tax policy is the responsibility of the Budget, Tax and Welfare Directorate of the Treasury, together with HM Revenue and Customs.
	The Treasury keeps all taxes under review. The Chancellor announced changes to inheritance tax to ensure that all married couples and civil partners can benefit from double the inheritance tax allowance, in addition to the entitlement to full spouse relief, in his pre-Budget report statement on 9 October 2007.

Insolvency

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) personal insolvencies and  (b) individual voluntary arrangements involving a loss of tax revenue there were in each year since 1997.

Jane Kennedy: For the number of creditor petitions granted to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 6 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1021W. The figure for 2006-07 is 3,827. This figure does not include, nor does HMRC hold, information on the numbers of Bankruptcy Petitions granted to other creditors where HMRC may also have been a creditor.
	Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) were introduced by the Insolvency Act 1986 as an alternative to Bankruptcy. The Enterprise Act 2002 reduced the stigma of bankruptcy, thus encouraging enterprise and reducing the penalties for genuine business 'failure'. The number of Individual Voluntary Arrangements approved in England and Wales in the last six years where HMRC and former legacy Departments were creditors is:
	2001—3,887
	2002—3,304
	2003—3,498
	2004—3,365
	2005—4,320
	2006—5,524
	HMRC does not have this information for earlier years.

Marginal Tax Rates

Stephen Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people will be subject to marginal deduction rates of over 50 per cent. under the 2008-09 tax and benefits system.

Jane Kennedy: Table 5.2 of the 2007 pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review provides estimates of the number of families who may face marginal deduction rates above 60 per cent. under the 2008-09 tax and benefit system. The following table extends the published table to include families who may face marginal deduction rates above 50 per cent., though for technical reasons such estimates are less reliable than those routinely published in Budget and pre-Budget reports.
	
		
			  Distribution of marginal deduction rates for heads of families under the 2008-09 tax and benefit system 
			  Marginal deduction rate  2008-09 system of taxes and benefits 
			 Over 60 per cent. 1,880,000 
			 Over 50 per cent. 1,935,000 
		
	
	The table shows marginal deduction rates for families where at least one person works 16 hours or more, and where increased earnings would lead to reduced tax credits, housing benefit or council tax benefit; all notes to the published table apply.
	The estimates do not take account of the annual income disregard in tax credits, which in 2008-09 allows incomes to rise between one year and the next by up to £25,000 before tax credits begin to be withdrawn.
	The number of families facing marginal deduction rates in excess of 70 per cent. has fallen by around half a million as a result of the Government's reforms to the tax and benefit system.

Marriage

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) marriages of 20 to 40-year-olds per 10,000 20 to 40-year-olds,  (b) marriages per 10,000 adults and  (c) divorces per 10,000 adults there were in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland in each year since 1980.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 October 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for the number of  (a) marriages between 20 to 40 years olds per 10,000 20 to 40 year olds,  (b) marriages per 10,000 adults and  (c) divorces per 10,000 adults there were in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland, in each year since 1980. (158640)
	 (a) Marriages between ages 20 and 40 from 1980
	At a marriage either one or both partners may be aged between 20 and 40. We have therefore presented the table in terms of individuals marrying rather than marriages. In the tables below age specific marriage rates for individuals marrying aged 20 up to age 40 (that is aged 20 to 39) in each year from 1980 onwards are provided.
	The information requested is not readily available for England and Wales separately; therefore in the answer to section (a) England and Wales have been combined. Data are available to 2005 for England and Wales and 2006 for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
	The tables have been placed in the Library.

Mayor of London and London Assembly: Payments

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will put mechanisms in place so that payments made on ceasing to hold office as Mayor of London or London Assembly Member are exempt from tax up to the first £30,000.

Jane Kennedy: The Government are aware of the proposals to introduce a severance scheme for members of the Greater London Authority under the Greater London Authority Bill and is considering the appropriate mechanisms for dealing with the taxation of any payments under the scheme.

Personal Pensions: Property

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will allow buy-to-let properties to be included in self-invested personal pensions.

Kitty Ussher: Successive Governments have provided generous tax relief on pensions saving to support individuals to make provision for a secure income in retirement, not to build assets or wealth. Self invested personal pensions (SIPPs) allow individuals who want to manage their tax relieved pension investments to do so. But buy-to-let properties are precluded from tax relief on pensions, if held by member-directed schemes, because of the potential for abuse by using the generous tax-reliefs for purposes other than to provide an income in retirement.
	The Government remain committed to encouraging investment in a range of assets as part of pensions saving and therefore allows SIPPs to invest in residential property as long as it is done via a genuinely diverse commercial vehicle in which they have a less than 10 per cent. interest.

Revenue and Customs: Administration of Justice

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the occasions on which HM Revenue and Customs has been taken to court in the last five years in respect of which no proceedings remain active; for what it was taken to court in each case; and what the outcome was of each case.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Most litigation involving HM Revenue and Customs concerned disputes as to a tax liability, its administration of the tax system, or collection of tax debt.
	The litigation of the Department took place in various tribunals, the magistrates courts, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords.
	Cases were brought at the instigation of the Department, taxpayers and by others affected by the Department's actions.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it compulsory for HM Revenue and Customs enquiry centres to issue receipts when receiving documents and forms from customers.

Jane Kennedy: Receipts are given on request for payments and for particularly valuable original documents such as passports and birth certificates. There are no plans to extend these arrangements.

Stamp Duties

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the stamp duty thresholds for residential properties were in each year since 1996-97.

Kitty Ussher: The main thresholds for Stamp Duty and its replacement, Stamp Duty Land Tax (effective from 1 December 2003) are detailed in the following table, covering the period from 1996-97 onwards.
	
		
			  Threshold and rates of stamp duty 
			  Commencing d ate( 1)  Nil r ate  1  per cent.  1.5  per cent.  2  per cent.  2.5  per cent.  3  per cent.  3.5  per cent.  4  per cent. 
			   Considerations up to  Considerations exceeding 
			 16 March 1993 £60,000 £60,000 — — — — — — 
			 8 July 1997 £60,000 £60,000 £250,000 £500,000 — — — — 
			 24 March 1998 £60,000 £60,000 — £250,000 — £500,000 — — 
			 16 March 1999 £60,000 £60,000 — — £250,000 — £500,000 — 
			 28 March 2000 £60,000 £60,000 — — — £250,000 — £500,000 
			 1 December 2003(2) £60,000 £60,000 — — — £250,000 — £500,000 
			 17 March 2005 £120,000 £120,000 — — — £250,000 — £500,000 
			 23 March 2006 £125,000 £125,000 — — — £250,000 — £500,000 
			 (1) Information for 16 March 1993 to 28 March 2000 taken from the National Statistics publication 'Inland Revenue Statistics 2000', Table A.9. Information for dates from 1 December 2003 onwards were obtained from the publicly available data on the HMRC website (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/rates/postdec03-rates.htm, hhttp://www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/rates/rates-mar05-06.htm, and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/so/rates/index.htm). (2) As part of a major modernisation in Finance Act 2003, Stamp Duty was replaced by Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) with effect from 1 December 2003.

Tax Allowances: Capital Investment

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many responses he has received to the consultation on the abolition of industrial buildings allowance which  (a) support and  (b) oppose the abolition; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Government are not consulting on the phased withdrawal of the industrial buildings allowance from 2008. It is not the Government's policy to consult on changes to rates of tax or the withdrawal of allowances.

Taxation: Imports

Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the figure of £145 for the value of goods that can be imported into the UK from outside the EU without paying tax was reached; when this figure was last revised; if he will make it his policy to index that figure in line with inflation; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The value of goods that can be imported into EU countries (including the UK) from outside the EU, without paying tax is stated in the directive on the harmonisation of provisions set out by law, regulation or administrative action relating to exemption from turnover tax and excise duty on imports in international travel (directive 69/169/EEC).
	When directive 69/169/EEC was first agreed in 1969, the allowance was set at €45 (£36). In 1994, the directive was amended to increase the allowance to €175 (£136). The sterling conversion was then revalorised from £136 to £145 in 1995 to reflect exchange rate fluctuations. Since then the allowance has not been revised.
	Following the announcement at Budget 2005 that the Government would be seeking increases in travellers' allowances, the European Commission issued a proposal to increase the duty-free limit on goods other than alcohol and tobacco. EU Finance Ministers reached agreement in November 2006 to increase this limit to €430 (£290) for air and sea travellers and €300 (£200) for travellers by land. It was also agreed that this limit would be reviewed every four years.
	The new allowances will be introduced in the UK once the relevant European legislation has been formally amended. The Government are pressing the European Commission to bring forward the finalised legislation, so that travellers will be able to benefit from the higher limits.

Unpaid Work

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the amount of unpaid work undertaken in the economy in each of the last five years, broken down by region;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the impact of unpaid work undertaken on  (a) the economy and  (b) public expenditure; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: It is not possible to provide reliable estimates on the amount of unpaid work undertaken in the economy.

VAT: Registration

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of VAT registration applications have been processed within the target time in 2007-08.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 8 October 2007
	 The number and proportion of VAT registration applications processed within the target time in 2007-08 is;
	
		
			  2007  Number within 14 days  Proportion (percentage) within 14 days 
			 January 4,671 21 
			 February 4,506 20 
			 March 4,022 19 
			 April 1,493 7 
			 May 1,883 7.5 
			 June 3,174 17 
			 July 3,884 13 
		
	
	HMRC recognise that in recent months there have been some unacceptable delays for genuine businesses. Several factors have contributed to this, including an increase in the threat of fraud, an increase in the number of applications, and both resource and IT pressures. However, HMRC have put improvement measures in place and expect that a real upturn will be visible later this year.

VAT: Registration

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average processing time was for VAT registration applications for each of the VAT registration units in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 8 October 2007
	 The average processing time for VAT applications for each of the VAT registration sites at 31 July 2007 was;
	
		
			  Registration site  Average time taken (in days) 
			 Wolverhampton 32 
			 Grimsby 38 
			 Newry 52 
			 Carmarthen 43 
		
	
	HMRC has taken steps to address the imbalance in processing times across sites and is transferring work between locations to overcome this. Since 1 October 2007, all new applications have also been handled at Wolverhampton and the relatively faster handling times there should have a significant impact on the overall average time taken.

VAT: Registration

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 23 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 665-66W, on VAT: registration, how many and what proportion of VAT registration applications were processed within 15 working days in 2006-07.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 8 October 2007
	 The number and proportion of VAT registration application processed within 15 working days in 2006-07 was;
	
		
			  2006-07  Number/percentage 
			 Number processed within 15 working days 188,216 
			 Percentage processed within 15 working days 66 
		
	
	HMRC recognise that in recent months there have been some unacceptable delays for genuine businesses. Several factors have contributed to this, including an increase in the threat of fraud, an increase in the numbers of applications, and both resource and IT pressures. However, HMRC have put improvement measures in place and expect that a real upturn will be visible later this year.

VAT: Registration

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for VAT registration were processed within  (a) 14,  (b) 30,  (c) 60,  (d) 90 and  (e) more than 90 days after their submission to HM Revenue and Customs in the 12 month period ending 31 March.

Jane Kennedy: Revenue and Customs do not separately record the number of VAT registration applications processed within 90 or more days after their submission. The number processed within  (a) 14,  (b) 30 and  (c) 60 days after their submission for the financial year ending 31 March 2007 are as follows;
	
		
			  Applications processed within  Total number of applications 
			 14 days 77,568 
			 30 days 242,474 
			 60 days 281,690 
		
	
	HMRC recognise that in recent months there have been some unacceptable delays for genuine businesses. Several factors have contributed to this, including an increase in the threat of fraud, an increase in the numbers of applications, and both resource and IT pressures. However, HMRC have put improvement measures in place and expect that a real upturn will be visible later this year.

VAT: Registration

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons are for the time taken to provide new businesses with a VAT registration number; what the performance against the eight week target period  (a) has been in the last period for which figures are available and  (b) is expected to be over the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) receive over 285,000 VAT registration applications each year and have a target of clearing complete and low risk applications within 14 days following receipt. The Government recognise that, over recent months, HMRC have fallen short of this target.
	Several factors have contributed to the increased processing times. VAT registration is the entry point to serious frauds such as Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud, which reduced VAT receipts by an estimated £2 billion to £3 billion in 2005-06 and represents a very serious and sustained attack by organised criminal networks on the UK's VAT system. HMRC has taken steps to prevent such abuse of the VAT system, including a range of pre-registration checks, which last year weeded out over 7,000 fraudulent applications.
	Earlier this year HMRC also saw a peak in the number of VAT registration applications as some businesses tried to circumvent certain anti-avoidance measures introduced in Budget 2007. As a consequence the operational pressures on HMRC have intensified and work continues to manage the response to this pressure.
	HMRC have a 14-day target for clearing complete and low risk applications rather than an eight-week target period. For 2007-08 the performance against that target is as follows:
	
		
			  Month (2007)  Number within 14 days  Proportion (percentage) within 14 days 
			 April 1,493 7 
			 May 1,883 7.5 
			 June 3,174 17 
			 July 3,884 13 
			 August 3,997 14.4 
			 September 5,686 19.75 
		
	
	HMRC has put in place a number of specific measures designed to improve registration processing times. It has made immediate improvements to speed up the initial vetting of applications, and is targeting its risk checks more closely on the highest risk applications, so as to minimise disruption to legitimate applications. Additional processing staff have been recruited, more of the existing staff are now dealing with VAT registration work and IT challenges have been addressed with improvements planned over coming months.
	HMRC anticipate that these steps will provide significant additional processing capacity. However the lead-time for some changes, including training of new staff, means that significant improvement is not expected until later in the year. HMRC recognises that performance needs to continue to improve and will continue to work hard to reduce VAT registration delay.

Welfare Tax Credits

Mark Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress in the review of tax credit awards for 2003-04 and 2004-05 affected by HM Revenue and Customs procedural errors.

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on Thursday 18 October,  Official Report, column 1281W.

Welfare Tax Credits: Overpayments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claimants had their tax credits overpaid by  (a) under £1,000,  (b) £1,000 to £1,999,  (c) £2,000 to £2,999,  (d) £3,000 to £3,999,  (e) £4,000 to £4,999,  (f) £5,000 to £5,999,  (g) £6,000 to £6,999,  (h) £7,000 to £7,999,  (i) £8,000 to £8,999,  (j) £9,000 to £9,999 and  (k) over £10,000 in the financial year (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06 and (iv) 2006-07.

Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of awards with an over or under payment of tax credits in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, by size of over or under payment, is produced in Table 3 of the HMRC publications "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards. Supplement on Payments In." for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	The same information for over and under payments in 2006-07 will not be available until May 2008.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) type 1 accident and emergency attendances and  (b) 999 calls resulted in a subsequent emergency admission on the grounds of a diagnosis of (i) stroke, (ii) heart attack and (iii) serious head injury in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The information is not collected in the format requested.
	Data are provided for the numbers of finished admission episodes admitted via accident and emergency (A&E) based on codes related to the headings of stroke, heart attack and head injury (see notes for list of codes). Emergency admissions via routes other than A&E have not been included.
	These are a count of the admissions to a hospital bed only, following attendance at A&E. It is not possible to distinguish whether an admission from an A&E department was following a 999 call.
	Information has also been provided on the number of type 1 A&E attendances and number of ambulance emergency calls and emergency incidents.
	
		
			  Count of finished admission episodes (FAE) via A&E for selected primary diagnoses( 1) , national health service hospitals, England, 2005-06 
			   Count of FAE 
			 Stroke 57,814 
			 Heart Attack 61,974 
			 Head Injury 124,759 
			 (1) Count of finished admission episodes (FAE) via A&E for selected primary diagnoses Primary Diagnoses International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes:  Stroke: 160 Subarachnoid haemorrhage 161 Intracerebral haemorrhage 162 Other non-traumatic intracranial haemorrhage 163 Cerebral infarction 164 Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction.  Heart Attack 121 Acute myocardial infarction 122 Subsequent myocardial infarction.  Head Injury: S00 Superficial injury of head S01 Open wound of head S02 Fracture of skull and facial bones S03 Dislocation, sprain and strain of joints and ligaments of head S04 Injury of cranial nerves S05 Injury of eye and orbit S06 Intracranial injury S07 Crushing injury of head S08 Traumatic amputation of part of head S09 Other and unspecified injuries of the head T00.0 Superficial injuries involving head with neck T01.0 Open wounds involving head with neck T02.0 Fractures involving head with neck T03.0 Dislocations, sprains and strains involving head with neck T04.0 Crushing injuries involving head with neck T06.0 Injuries of brain and cranial nerves with injuries of nerves and spinal cord at neck level.  Emergency admission defined as admission method 21 and 28: 21 = Emergency: Via A&E services, including the casualty department of the provider 28 = Emergency: Other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider.  Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Data Quality HES are complied from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.   Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of attendances at Type 1 A&E Departments, England 
			 2005-06 13,553,686 
			 2006-07 13,602,589 
			  Source:  Department of Health Dataset QMAE. 
		
	
	
		
			  Emergency calls to ambulance services, England 
			   Number (million) 
			 2005-06 5.96 
			 2006-07 6.33 
		
	
	
		
			  Emergency incidents( 1) , England 
			   Number (million) 
			 2005-06 4.77 
			 2006-07 5.07 
			 (1) Calls resulting in an emergency response arriving at the scene of the incident.   Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care. Ambulance services—England—2006-07.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Manpower

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) consultants and  (b) other staff worked in the NHS in the accident and emergency specialty in each year since 1997; and how many of each this represented per 1,000 patient attendances at (i) a type 1 accident and emergency department and (ii) all accident and emergency departments.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is shown in the following table. The data for 1,000 patient attendances for "all accident and emergency departments" have not been calculated as they include units that are not consultant led.
	
		
			  Hospital and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental staff( 1,2)  showing consultants, working within the accident and emergency specialty per 1,000 accident and emergency department patient attendances—England at 30 September each year 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Consultant 386 422 438 455 487 533 561 618 689 725 
			 Consultant per1,000 patient attendance for:   
			  All type( 1)  A and E departments( 3) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.044 0.044 0.047 0.051 0.053 
			
			 Other staff(2) 2,526 2,629 2,655 2,699 2,734 2,899 3,046 3,422 3,702 3,989 
			 Other staff per 1,000 patient attendance for:   
			  All type( 1)  A and E departments n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.242 0.240 0.258 0.273 0.293 
			 n/a = not applicable (1) Staff with their primary specialty being accident and emergency. (2) Other staff includes, associate specialist, staff grade, registrar group, senior house officer, foundation year 2, house officer and foundation programme year 1, hospital practitioner/clinical assistant, other. (3) Prior to Q1 2001-02, attendance data were collected annually for all A and E types. A and E attendances split down into A and E type were first collected in 2002-03 A and E attendances at all A and E types from Q1 2003-04 onwards include attendances at walk-in centres.  Note: Annual patient attendance figures and not quarterly patient attendance figures have been used to calculate these ratios.  Source: The Information Centre for Health and Social Care and The Department of health

Air Pollution: Health Hazards

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the possible health implications of the emission of PM2.5 particles from  (a) incinerators and  (b) other industrial processes.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not monitor the possible health implications of the emission of PM2.5 particles from incinerators or industrial processes directly on an ongoing basis. This is not possible as any health effects of PM2.5 particles cannot be diagnosed as specific to PM2.5.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) currently monitors ambient concentrations of PM2.5 in a small number of locations around the United Kingdom. Monitoring has also taken place until recently at the steel works at Port Talbot. This data is available from the National Air Quality Information Archive website at www.airquality.co.uk
	DEFRA does undertake more extensive monitoring of PM10 with which PM2.5 is closely correlated. PM10 is part of the Air Quality Information System. This system classifies air pollution concentrations according to the likely short-term effects on health.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the percentage of incidents requiring the attendance of an ambulance which were alcohol-related in 2006-07.

Ben Bradshaw: No estimate has been made of the percentage of incidents requiring the attendance of an ambulance that were alcohol-related in 2006-07.

Anorexia

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's policy is on the treatment of anorexia; and what research is being  (a) undertaken and  (b) commissioned by his Department.

Ivan Lewis: We take the issue of anorexia and other eating disorders, especially among young people, very seriously. This is why the Department asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to produce a clinical guideline on the core interventions in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders. NICE published the guideline in 2004 and is due to review it in January 2008.
	In the four years to the end of March 2007, we invested over £400 million of additional money into the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provided by the national health service and local authorities. These funds will assist in meeting and maintaining the Department's public service agreement standard of a comprehensive CAMHS, including services for young people with an eating disorder. Further funds totalling £130 million have been made available to the NHS and local authorities for the development of CAMHS in 2007-08.
	The Department funds NHS research and development through the National Institute for Health Research. The Institute's research programmes support high quality research of relevance and in areas of high priority to patients and the NHS. This research currently includes a centrally funded trial evaluating the clinical and cost effectiveness of three treatments for young people with anorexia nervosa, and a project on the translation of experimental neuroscience into clinical practice in the treatment of the condition.
	Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects including more than 200 projects concerned with anorexia are available on the national research register at www.nrr.nhs.uk.
	The Department awarded £1.9 million to Professor Ulrike Schmidt, Professor of Eating Disorders at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) in February 2007. The grant to SLaM, in partnership with the eating disorders charity beat and the Institute of Psychiatry is designed to conduct research into the identification and treatment of anorexia.

Antidepressants: Students

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were made to students who have filled out an HC1 form for anti-depressants in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally in the format requested.

Broomfield Hospital: Scouts and Guides

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost was of the care and treatment of the 53 attendees of the World Scout Jamboree in August who received treatment at Broomfield hospital, Chelmsford and were not eligible for free NHS treatment.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 19 October 2007
	The information requested is not held centrally.
	I have asked departmental officials to arrange for Ruth May, Chief Executive of Mid Essex Hospitals NHS Trust to write to the hon. Member separately with this information.

Care Homes: Abuse

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of  (a) abuse and  (b) neglect of residents in residential care homes were (i) investigated and (ii) the subject of successful prosecution in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Care Homes: Families

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's policy is on family unit care homes.

Ivan Lewis: The Government believe that care homes are only one of a range of options that should be available for supporting people with long-term care needs. The Government recognise that most people want to live in their own home for as long as possible. However, there will always be some people for who care in a care home will best suit their needs and wishes.
	All care homes in England are regulated, registered and inspected by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). CSCI regulates homes according to statutory regulations and national minimum standard, which apply equally to all, from small, family-run homes to large facilities operated by corporate providers.
	We appreciate that some residents will prefer the family atmosphere of a small home, while others will be more comfortable in a larger establishment. It is for service users to choose the type of home they would prefer to live in.

Community Nurses: Manpower

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community matrons were employed on 16 October 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not collected centrally.
	The results of the September 2007 national health service work force census will be published in the spring next year.
	In September 2006 there were 366 community matrons, an increase of 99 or 37 per cent. since 2005. Based on recent discussions with a number of strategic health authorities we believe that the census may be an undercount, with community matrons most likely being recorded in the census within other occupational groups.
	We are committed to increasing the number of community matrons and local development plans strongly suggest this is happening.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason his Department underspent its capital budget in 2006-07.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is contained in page 20 of the Department of Health Resource Accounts 2006-07 (HC1005) which is available in the Library. For information, this is repeated as follows.
	The Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit underspend is largely due to underspend/slippage by NHS bodies including Foundation Trusts, Connecting for Health and unallocated capital , e.g. in the Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) and due to the fact that a number of NHS organisations were in the process of financial recovery resulting in capital investment being delayed in some areas.

Departments: Public Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the draft of his Department's Policy Costing Handbook dated 7 March, what Delphi is;
	(2)  on what date the final version of his Department's Policy Costing Handbook was completed; and if he will place a copy of the final version in the Library.

Ben Bradshaw: Delphi is the name given to the Department's intranet, and the references made in the Policy Costing Handbook refer to where related documents can be located by departmental staff.
	The final version of the Policy Costing Handbook was issued in July 2007 and a copy has been placed in the Library.

Doctors: Disqualification

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors have been  (a) struck off and  (b) stopped from making prescriptions for prescribing controlled drugs; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not collect this information centrally, and is not directly involved in the disciplining of individual doctors, or imposing conditions on their practice. Decisions about whether a doctor should be struck off the register, or have conditions imposed, are matters for the General Medical Council.

General Practitioners

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices in each of the regions had at least 50 per cent. of their patients living three or more miles away in each of the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

General Practitioners

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices in each of the regions was single-handed in each of the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: We understand that information is requested in relation to regions of Northern Ireland and England. The Department does not hold information on the numbers of single-handed practices in Northern Ireland. However, information for strategic health authority (SHA) areas in England is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of single handed general practitioner (GP) providers( 1)  in England by SHA, as at 30 September 2005 and 2006 
			2005  2006 
			 O f which:   O f which: 
			Number of partnerships  Single handed  Percentage  single handed  Number of partnerships  Single handed  Percentage  single handed 
			  England 8,451 2,176 26 8,325 2,222 27 
			 
			 Q30 North East 404 85 21 396 80 20 
			 Q31 North West 1,303 410 31 1,285 403 31 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and the Humber 826 183 22 817 183 22 
			 Q33 East Midlands 630 117 19 621 120 19 
			 Q34 West Midlands 989 347 35 968 330 34 
			 Q35 East of England 802 167 21 778 173 22 
			 Q36 London 1,591 574 36 1,579 633 40 
			 Q37 South East Coast 649 167 26 638 159 25 
			 Q38 South Central 511 53 10 500 55 11 
			 Q39 South West 746 73 10 743 86 12 
			 (1) A single handed GP provider is one that has no partners, although they may employ a GP other (salaried GP), GP registrar or GP retainer.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics

General Practitioners and Dentists: Lists of Patients

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average practice list size was for  (a) GPs and  (b) dentists in each of the regions in each of the last two years.

Ben Bradshaw: The average general practitioner partnership list size by strategic health authority (SHA) in England, as at 30 September 2005 and 2006 is shown in the following table. The Department does not collect this data for Northern Ireland regions.
	Registration is not part of the existing national health service dental system. Many dentists continue to keep practice level information on their current patient ' list' but this information is not centrally reported and therefore not available.
	Information is available showing the number of dentists on open NHS contracts per head of population. The latest information was published by The Information Centre for health and social care as Annex 3 Table El of NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07 which is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-statistics-2006-07
	
		
			  Average partnership list size by SHA in England, as at 30 September 2005 and 2006 
			2005  2006 
			Number of partnerships  Registered patients  Average patients per partnership  Number of partnerships  Registered patients  Average patients per partnership 
			  England 8,451 52,817,500 6,250 8,325 53,283,787 6,400 
			 
			 Q30 North East 404 2,626,296 6,501 396 2,636,773 6,659 
			 Q31 North West 1,303 7,147,635 5,486 1,285 7,219,728 5,618 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and the Humber 826 5,260,062 6,368 817 5,310,906 6,500 
			 Q33 East Midlands 630 4,346,153 6,899 621 4,426,994 7,129 
			 Q34 West Midlands 989 5,613,419 5,676 968 5,629,001 5,815 
			 Q35 East of England 802 5,729,779 7,144 778 5,755,696 7,398 
			 Q36 London 1,591 8,309,123 5,223 1,579 8,445,425 5,349 
			 Q37 South East Coast 649 4,375,551 6,742 638 4,424,349 6,935 
			 Q38 South Central 511 4,169,337 8,159 500 4,159,688 8,319 
			 Q39 South West 746 5,240,145 7,024 743 5,275,227 7,100 
			  Sources:  The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Health Services: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what provision his Department has made for extra funding for health services in areas with disproportionately high levels of elderly residents;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the age of the population on demand for health care.

Ben Bradshaw: The 2006-08 revenue allocations represent £135 billion investment in the national health service—£64 billion to primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2006-07 and £70 billion in 2007-08. Over the two years covered by this allocation, PCTs will receive an average increase of 19.5 per cent.
	The revenue allocations are made to PCTs based on a weighted-capitation formula. The formula has three elements, one of which is an age adjustment. The age adjustment is one of the three elements of the formula. This adjustment recognises that a principal cause of variation in the level of demand for health services is the age structure of the population. The very young and the elderly, whose populations are not evenly distributed throughout the country, tend to make more use of health services than the rest of the population. The purpose of the age weighting within the formula is to allow for varying elements of health need associated with the age structure of local populations.
	The development of the weighted-capitation formula, including the age adjustment, is continually assessed and overseen by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). ACRA is an independent body comprising NHS management, general practitioner and academic membership. ACRA's current work programme is looking again at all elements of the formula, including the age adjustment.

Health Services: Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to assess the impact of primary care trusts assuming responsibility for the provision of health care services to prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: In 2006, the Health Services Management Centre at Birmingham University was commissioned to undertake a survey of prison health partnerships in order to inform both an assessment of their progress and the process of transferring commissioning responsibility for prison health care services in public sector prisons to the national health service. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	This year, the Department will introduce a set of newly designed performance indicators to assess the quality of prison health care services. These bring together a number of existing systems to support a mainstream approach to performance monitoring at a local level.
	It is planned that the indicators will contribute to measuring the effectiveness of the transfer and corresponding significant increased investment in prison health. They will also act as a tool to strengthen local commissioning, governance and performance management arrangements and inform national strategy and policy development.
	HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and the Healthcare Commission have worked in partnership by virtue of a memorandum of understanding since April 2006 to monitor health care standards in prisons. The Healthcare Commission now includes prison health services in its assessment of the effectiveness of commissioning arrangements in the national health service, while HMIP continues to inspect and report on health outcomes for prisoners in all public sector establishments.

Hearing Aids: Waiting Lists

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on NHS performance against targets for supply of hearing aids, with particular reference to  (a) the wait for a first instrument,  (b) the wait for exchange from an analogue to a digital aid,  (c) the wait from referral to hearing assessment and  (d) differences in performance between primary care trusts and regions in meeting those targets.

Ivan Lewis: We do not collect information on the length of time people are having to wait for a first instrument or for the wait for an exchange from an analogue to a digital aid.
	The number of people having to wait for a hearing assessment has fallen significantly since the launch of the national audiology framework "Improving Access to Audiology Services in England". A copy is available in the Library. Latest data for August 2007 shows that since March 2007 the number of people waiting over six weeks has fallen by 29,000 or 28 per cent.
	As part of delivering 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment, there is a milestone for diagnostic tests, including audiology assessments, of a six-week maximum wait by March 2008. Information on the number of waits for audiology assessments by primary care trust has been placed in the Library.

Hearing Impaired: Health Services

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the removal of the exemption for audiology from the 18 week GP referral to assessment target on patients; and if he will make a statement.;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the removal of ring-fenced funding for the NHS hearing aid services on patients; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what safeguards are in place to ensure that the contracting-out of audiology services to the private sector does not damage NHS services; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what  (a) financial analysis,  (b) review of current audiology services and  (c) evidence was used when writing his Department's audiology plan;
	(5)  how follow-up care will be provided for those using the independent sector for NHS audiology treatment; how such patients will be assessed; how the quality of  (a) service and  (b) the hearing aids dispensed to such patients will be monitored; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: There has been no change to the position in relation to audiology services and the 18 week target.
	The most complex audiology cases, those properly referred to Ear Nose and Throat Departments for surgical or medical consultant-led care, will be covered by the target of treatment within 18 weeks of referral by December 2008. The remaining routine adult hearing loss cases are not included in the 18 weeks target and should be assessed within six weeks by March 2008. This is in line with the diagnostic waiting time milestone on which local commissioning plans are based.
	No assessment has been made of changes to the funding mechanism for national health service hearing aid services. Funding of £125 million over the five years of the Modernising Hearing Aid Services programme was made available to enable services to modernise the way that they operated and routinely fit digital hearing aids.
	Current funding for audiology services, along with the majority of other services, is provided through the general allocations to national health service trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs). It is the responsibility of local health organisations to allocate resources to audiology services based on their knowledge of the needs of their local populations and the resources available.
	The Department developed the national framework for audiology "Improving Access to Audiology Services in England", published in March 2007 using views and evidence from a wide range of stakeholders. A copy is available in the Library. Nine development sites were also used to develop good practice aimed at improving access to audiology services through commissioning, service redesign, choice, information and incentives.
	As set out in "Improving Access to Audiology in England", additional capacity is needed to address long waiting times for some audiology services. PCTs are responsible for commissioning the full range of health services for their local populations including audiology and for ensuring that they meet their capacity needs through improving existing NHS.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish referral-to-treatment waiting times for non-admitted patients.

Ben Bradshaw: Collection of referral to treatment data for non-admitted patients has been mandatory since April 2007 and is due to be published in the autumn.

Macular Degeneration

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide match funding for the London Project's research into dry macular degeneration.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's National Institute for Health Research has this year awarded £14 million over five years to fund a Specialist Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The award supports five research themes. One of these is concerned with age-related macular degeneration and incorporates the privately sponsored London Project.

Mentally Ill: Deaths

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many inpatients died in NHS mental health accommodation in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  what mechanisms are in place  (a) to record and  (b) to publish the cause of death of inpatients who die in NHS mental health accommodation.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the total number of in-patient deaths in national health service mental health accommodation in England from 2001-02 to 2005-06 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Total number of discharge episodes ending in the death of in - patients in NHS acute hospital and NHS mental health accommodation in England from 2001-02 to 2005-06: finished consultant episodes, male and female c ombined, all ages, all regions( 1) 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 2,970 
			 2002-03 2,920 
			 2003-04 2,660 
			 2004-05 2,490 
			 2005-06 1,980 
			 (1 )Totals include deaths from all causes  Note:  Ungrossed data: the figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data.  Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics, the Information Centre for Health and Social Care. 
		
	
	Data on in-patient deaths which are due to suicide, homicide and sudden, unexpected causes is published by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (NCISH) based at the University of Manchester. NCISH is funded by the National Patient Safety Agency and published its report, 'Avoidable Deaths', in December 2006. It covers data on homicides in England and Wales from April 1999 to December 2003 and on suicides from April 2000 to December 2004.
	The data on homicides is collected from the Home Office Homicide Index (HI). Where available, psychiatric reports prepared for the trial are obtained. Information on previous offences is collected from the National Crime Operations Faculty. Case details are submitted to mental health services in each individual's district of residence and adjacent districts to identify those with a history of using mental health services, including those with a lifetime contact. These individuals become inquiry cases and those cases with recent service contact (within 12 months of the offence) are analysed as the main sample.
	Information on inquiry cases is obtained from a questionnaire sent to the consultant psychiatrist within the applicable clinical team. For all homicide convictions, data are collected on methods and victims from the HI, including data on diminished responsibility and hospital orders. Data on mental illness at the time of offence comes from psychiatric reports prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service, including details of mental health, drug and alcohol use at the time of the offence. The questionnaire also provides data covering demographic details, clinical history, details of the homicide, details of in-patient/community care received, details of final contact with services, events leading to the homicide and respondents' views on prevention.
	The Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC) collects data on all detained patient deaths and publishes data on those from non-natural causes in its biennial report. MHAC, under its general remit to keep under review the operation of the Mental Health Act 1983, asks providers to notify it of all deaths of detained patients within three working days.
	MHAC reviews the deaths of patients who have died from non-natural causes to establish whether good practice, as defined in the 'Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice', has been followed and whether lessons for future practice and policy need to be learned. This review may include sending a Commissioner to the inquest, which considers the circumstances of the death or arranging a visit to the hospital to consider the issues arising.

Midwives: Manpower

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of midwives that will be needed in  (a) 2008,  (b) 2009,  (c) 2010 and  (d) 2011;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent midwives entered the NHS in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: Work force planning is a matter for local determination as local work force planners are best placed to asses their local midwifery needs for their local population.
	There are sufficient new midwives being trained to increase the midwifery work force by over 1,000 leading up to 2009. In addition to this planned increase, local organisations are reviewing their work force capacity in line with the 2007-08 Operating Framework, and may identify the need to invest in their maternity services and increase staffing capacity.
	'Maternity Matters' takes account of staffing levels up to 2009. No further assessments have been made centrally.
	The Department does not collect information centrally on 'new joiners' in the national health service each year. The census however collects information on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in post as at 30 September each year. This information is shown in the following table. The number of FTE midwives has increased by 809 or 5 per cent. since 1997.
	
		
			  FTE number of midwives employed in the NHS as at 30 September each year, England 
			   FTE 
			 1997 18,053 
			 1998 18,168 
			 1999 17,876 
			 2000 17,662 
			 2001 18,048 
			 2002 18,119 
			 2003 18,444 
			 2004 18,854 
			 2005 18,949 
			 2006(1) 18,862 
			 (1) 286 duplicate records were identified and removed.  Source: Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census

NHS Direct

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which team in his Department has lead responsibility for the work of NHS Direct.

Ben Bradshaw: The Service Design Division, within the Commissioning and System Management Directorate, has lead responsibility for the work of NHS Direct. The officials in this division work closely with colleagues across the Department given the cross-cutting nature of NHS Direct's work.

NHS: Doctors

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) first finished consultant episodes and  (b) finished consultant episodes there were in the NHS in each year since 1990-91.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table shows the number of first finished consultant episodes (FFCEs) in each year since 1996-97 and the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) since 1990-91. Data on the number of FFCEs is not available prior to 1996-97. FFCE data is collected for general and acute specialties which do not include mental health, learning difficulties or maternity services. To enable comparison, FCE data has been supplied for general and acute, and the total for all specialties.
	
		
			  FCEs, England, 1990-91 to 2006-07 
			   Commissioner-based  Provider-based 
			   FFCEs general and acute only( 1, 2, 4, 6)  FCEs general and acute only( 3, 7)  FCEs all specialties( 7) 
			 1990-91 — — 8,898,744 
			 1991-92 — — 9,091,323 
			 1992-93 — — 9,614,508 
			 1993-94 — — 10,097,884 
			 1994-95 — — 10,313,379 
			 1995-96 — — 10,923,489 
			 1996-97 8,041,209 9,499,340 11,072,003 
			 1997-98 8,261,092 9,969,619 11,532,895 
			 1998-99 8,804,569 10,406,949 11,983,893 
			 1999-2000 8,908,430 10,650,954 12,196,270 
			 2000-01 9,077,189 10,740,791 12,264,676 
			 2001-02 9,131,457 10,831,517 12,337,724 
			 2002-03 9,408,120 11,187,854 12,712,153 
			 2003-04 9,864,032 11,681,985 13,295,166 
			 2004-05 10,204,097 11,961,873 13,706,450 
			 2005-06 10,527,644 12,647,485 14,423,506 
			 2006-07(5) 10,585,850 — — 
			 (1) Figures for years prior to 2006-07 have been rebased to allow direct comparison. (2) General and acute specialities do not include mental health, learning difficulties or maternity services. (3) General and acute main specialties defined as the following main specialty codes: 100-460, 502, 601, 620, 800-950. (4) 1996-97 to 1999-2000 figures are from health authorities. With the abolition of health authorities, figures for 2001-02 and 2002-03 are based on returns from national health service trusts. (5) Figures are subject to revision when final outturn figures are received.  Sources: (6) Quarterly monitoring and monthly monitoring, Department of health. (7) Hospital Episode Statistics, the Information Centre for health and social care.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Programme Budgeting Atlases, referred to at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policy andguidance/Organisationpolicy/Financeandplanning/Programmebudgeting/DH_075743 are available only to NHSnet users; and if he will place the atlases on a publicly accessible website.

Ben Bradshaw: The Programme Budgeting Atlases are only available to NHSnet users to ensure compliance with the National Statistics Code of Practice and the Protocol on Data Access and Confidentiality. This is to ensure that information that could potentially identify an individual is not disclosed to the general public.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the long-term plans for the 17 NHS trusts referred to in his Department's report NHS financial performance quarter four, published on 6 June 2007, as unable to service and repay loans over an acceptable period.

Ben Bradshaw: Departmental officials have worked in partnership with strategic health authorities (SHAs) on a review process to identify long-term solutions for these 17 trusts. The results of this recently completed review process are now being discussed with the SHAs and solutions are being prepared in the context of the Operating Framework for 2008-09.

NHS: Manpower

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to record the number of bank and agency staff employed by the NHS and publish data on an annual basis.

Ben Bradshaw: The Information Centre collects and publishes census data annually. The number of bank staff employed in the national health service is drawn from this data using the Non-Medical Workforce Census.
	The Department does not record the number of agency staff the NHS employs, but does record how much it spends. This data is collected annually via the trusts financial returns. The National Audit Office report "Improving the use of temporary nursing staff in NHS acute and foundation trusts" published in June 2006 acknowledged that year-on-year the NHS is getting better value for money and improving quality.

NHS: Per Capita Costs

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the per capita Government funding provision was for health services in  (a) Cornwall,  (b) the South West and  (c) England in each year since 1979.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold information centrally, either in total or per head of population, on funding across the whole of Government for health services. However, the following table shows the revenue resource limits (RRLs), expressed on a per capita basis, allocated by the Department for: Cornwall, the South West strategic health authority area and England. RRLs are limits set by the Department to control revenue expenditure in strategic health authorities (SHAs) and primary care trusts (PCTs). This information is given for the years 2000-01 to 2006-07, which are the only years for which these data are available by individual health body. The RRLs used are those for all relevant health authorities, SHAs, and PCTs; they take account of any adjustments made to the initial allocations to PCTs, including topslice and clawback, throughout each year.
	
		
			  £ per head 
			   Cornwall  South West  England 
			 2000-01 733.84 714.74 754.12 
			 
			 2001-02 807.80 792.33 828.29 
			 
			 2002-03 928.48 909.38 959.39 
			 
			 2003-04 959.75 1,013.80 1,075.42 
			 
			 2004-05 1,138.52 1,153.01 1,228.80 
			 
			 2005-06 1,273.76 1,255.54 1,325.87 
			 
			 2006-07 1,310.18 1,316.74 1,397.55 
			  Notes:  1. Figures for Cornwall 2000-01 to 2001-02. Data are shown for the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority and for PCTs in existence in those years.  2. Figures for Cornwall 2002-03 to 2006-07. Data shown include that for the PCTs in Cornwall. It is not possible to calculate SHA expenditure for Cornwall specifically as the amount of expenditure directly applicable cannot be identified, so an estimate (based on the RRLs and population of the SHAs in the South West) is also included to make up the expenditure shown.  3. Figures for the 'South West' are for the area covered by the current South West SHA. They include, as applicable, all information for primary care trusts, predecessor strategic health authorities and predecessor health authorities within this area.  4. The figures represent expenditure by the particular commissioners within the areas specified. This does not include all health related expenditure as pharmaceutical services and most general dental services expenditure is not accounted for by commissioners.   Sources:  1. Audited health authority summarisation forms 2000-01 to 2001-02.  2. Audited SHA summarisation forms 2002-03 to 2006-07.  3. Audited PCT summarisation schedules 2000-01 to 2006-07.  4. Unweighted population figures.

NHS: Private Sector

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS bodies have been unable to reach local resolutions between themselves and independent providers of NHS services, as referred to on page 5 of his Department's report Who Pays? Establishing the Responsible Commissioner published on 18th September 2007.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has not received any notification of instances where an national health service body has been unable to reach a local resolution between itself and an independent provider of NHS services, as referred to on page 5 of the Department's report 'Who Pays? Establishing the Responsible Commissioner' published on 18 September 2007.

Nurses: Manpower

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses per 100 beds there were in  (a) England,  (b) the West Suffolk hospital and  (c) Ipswich hospital in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff per 100 beds( 1)  in England and each specified organisation as at 30 September each specified year( 2) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 England 150 154 160 163 171 180 189 197 206 211 
			  O f which:   
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 93 87 103 101 117 128 140 150 160 170 
			 Ipswich Hospitals NHS Trust 124 135 188 139 153 156 157 167 167 165 
			 (1) Average daily number of available beds, all ward types. Ward classifications on KH03. Wards open overnight; Intensive care: neonates, intensive care: paediatric, intensive care: wholly or mainly adult, terminally ill / palliative care: wholly or mainly adult, younger physically disabled; Other general and acute: neonates and children, other general and acute: elderly: normal care; Other general and acute: elderly: limited care, other general and acute: other, maternity; Mental illness: children: short stay, mental illness: children: long stay, mental illness: elderly: short stay, mental illness: elderly: long stay, mental illness: other ages: secure unit, mental illness: other ages: short stay, mental illness: other ages: long stay. Learning disabilities, : children: short stay, learning disabilities, : children: long stay, learning disabilities, : other ages: secure unit, learning disabilities, : other ages: short stay, learning disabilities, : other ages: long stay, wards open day only: Neonates and children, Other ages.  (2) Beds figures are for the financial year.   Source: The Information Centre for health and social care. Non-Medical Workforce Census. Department of Health form KH03.

Nurses: Schools

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records his Department holds on the number of practising school nurses employed in England in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The annual national health service workforce census collected accurate information on the number of school nurses for the first time in 2004. The number of school nurses from 2004-06 is shown in the table.
	The 2006 census showed there were 2,968 qualified nurses in the school nursing area of work, an increase of 559 or 23.2 per cent. since 2004. Of these there were 1,129 school nurses with a post registration school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 273 or 31.89 per cent. since 2004.
	
		
			  School nurse numbers — England 
			   Headcount 
			   2004  2005  2006( 1)  Increase 2004-06  Percentage i ncrease since 2004 
			 School Nursing Service Nurses 2,409 2,887 2,968 559 23.20 
			  O f which:  
			 Nurses with a post registration school nursing qualification 856 943 1,129 273 31.89 
			   
			  Full-  time equivalent  
			 School Nursing Service Nurses 1,619 1,913 2,053 433 26.76 
			  O f which:  
			 Nurses with a post registration school nursing qualification 607 665 815 208 34.31 
			 (1 )More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years' figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years' figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration when analysing trends over time.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care. Non-Medical Workforce Census, General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Palm Oil

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had on the substituting of trans-fats with sustainable palm oil; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions he has had on the use of sustainable palm oil in UK food products; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what measures he plans to take to encourage the use of palm oil derived from sustainable sources in food products; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Secretary of State (Alan Johnson) has asked the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to conduct an immediate investigation into the use of trans-fats, to examine whether there is more we should ask the food industry to do in this area.
	The FSA is in discussion with food businesses about the reformulation of their products to improve the nutrition content. As part of these discussions, the potential role of palm oil as a substitute for hydrogenated vegetable oils in some foods has been highlighted.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy to grant free prescriptions for  (a) all people with long-term illnesses and  (b) those with asthma; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  for which long-term illnesses people are entitled to free prescriptions; and what criteria are used to determine to which illnesses the provision applies;

Dawn Primarolo: The medical conditions for which people are entitled to free prescriptions if they hold a valid medical exemption certificate are:
	permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, laryngostomy, or ileostomy) which requires continuous surgical dressing or requires an appliance;
	forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential;
	diabetes insipidus or other forms of hypopituitarism;
	diabetes mellitus (except where treatment of the diabetes is by diet alone);
	hypoparathyroidism;
	myasthenia gravis;
	myxoedema (that is, hypothyroidism requiring thyroid hormone replacement);
	epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy; and
	continuing physical disability which prevents the patient from leaving their residence without the help of another person.
	This list was introduced in 1968 after being agreed in discussion with the medical profession.
	The Government will be inviting views later this autumn on options for changes to prescription charges that are cost neutral to the national health service.

Primary Care Trusts: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish his Department's revenue allocations to each primary care trust for the years  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Ben Bradshaw: No decisions have yet been made about the timing of revenue allocations to primary care trusts for 2008-09 to 2010-11.

Smoking

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many smoking cessation clinics there are in  (a) the five most deprived areas in England and  (b) England; and whether the Government have targets to increase the number of smoking cessation clinics in either category over the next two years.

Dawn Primarolo: There are 62 primary care trusts (PCTs) in spearhead areas, each of which provides a National Health Service Stop Smoking Service for its local population. NHS Stop Smoking Services provide support in a variety of settings, including pharmacies, in primary care and in other settings such as prisons. Within all PCT areas in England, there will usually be a choice of support options and a number of delivery venues, thus improving choice and access for smokers wanting support to quit.
	The Government do not have specific targets to increase the number of particular stop smoking clinics over the next two years, but encourages the NHS to extend the support offered and promote access to more smokers wherever possible.
	The Government continue to work to promote the support provided by NHS Stop Smoking Services via national campaigns. Smokers who quit with the support of the NHS are up to four times more likely to succeed compared with will-power alone.

Smoking: Sandwell

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the prevalence of smoking among adults in each ward in the Borough of Sandwell.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimated prevalence of smoking among adults aged 16 and over, along with associated confidence intervals are provided for the wards in the Sandwell local authority. These estimates are taken from the Synthetic Estimates of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours and are published on the Neighbourhood Statistics website, available at:
	www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/Download1.do
	These estimates are for the combined years 2000-02 and are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Estimated prevalence of smoking among adults, by ward in the Sandwell local authority area, 2000-02 
			  Percentage 
			   Estimated prevalence of smoking  95 per cent. lower confidence interval  95 per cent. upper confidence interval  Comparison of estimated prevalence for smoking with national estimate( 1) 
			 Abbey 28.9 17.9 43.1 2 
			 Blackheath 33.1 20.9 48.1 2 
			 Bristnall 32.6 20.6 47.4 2 
			 Charlemont 26.7 16.2 40.6 2 
			 Cradley Heath and Old Hill 29.5 18.3 43.9 2 
			 Friar Park 38.9 25.4 54.4 2 
			 Great Barr 24.6 14.9 37.7 2 
			 Great Bridge 35.2 22.5 50.3 2 
			 Greets Green and Lyng 33.0 20.8 48.1 2 
			 Hateley Heath 35.6 22.8 50.8 2 
			 Langley 27.9 17.2 42.1 2 
			 Newton 26.1 15.8 39.8 2 
			 Oldbury 30.4 18.9 45.0 2 
			 Old Warley 26.2 15.9 39.9 2 
			 Princes End 38.9 25.3 54.5 2 
			 Rowley 31.7 19.9 46.5 2 
			 St. Pauls 26.2 15.7 40.2 2 
			 Smethwick 28.9 17.7 43.2 2 
			 Soho and Victoria 36.2 23.1 51.7 2 
			 Tipton Green 31.0 19.5 45.8 2 
			 Tividale 28.8 17.8 43.0 2 
			 Wednesbury North 29.9 18.6 44.4 2 
			 Wednesbury South 31.3 19.5 45.9 2 
			 West Bromwich Central 28.1 17.1 42.5 2 
			 (1) It should be noted that the scores for comparing the synthetic estimate to the national estimate relate to the data as follows: 1=CI significantly below NE, 2=overlapping, 3=CI significantly above NE. The national estimate is derived directly from the Health Surveys for England 2000-02 (with associated Confidence Intervals) and therefore is not a model-based estimate.  Source: Synthetic Estimates of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours at ward level, 2000-02. Neighbourhood Statistics, Office for National Statistics (ONS)

JUSTICE

Courts: Interpreters

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many interpreters in  (a) Lithuanian,  (b) Czech,  (c) Polish,  (d) Bulgarian,  (e) Estonian,  (f) Arabic,  (g) Hungarian,  (h) Romanian and  (i) Slovakian were employed (i) full and (ii) part time in the criminal courts or doing associated work in (A) the Greater London area and (B) England and Wales in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the annual cost was of  (a) full and  (b) part time interpreters in criminal cases or associated work in (i) the Greater London area and (ii) England and Wales in each of the last five years;
	(3)  which four languages required the most interpreters in courts in  (a) the Greater London area and  (b) England and Wales in the last five years for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many  (a) full and  (b) part time interpreters were employed for court work or associated matters in (i) the Greater London area and (ii) England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost through the manual searching of individual court files. Her Majesty's Courts Service is giving consideration to the routine collection of data relating to interpreting and translation services used in court.

Crimes of Violence: Young People

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) 11 to 13 years, (ii) 14 to 16 years and (iii) under 18 years were arrested for violence against another person aged under 18 years in each of the last two years for which information is available; and how many persons in each age group received (A) a caution, (B) detention in a young offender institution and (C) an acquittal in each of those two years.

David Hanson: The arrests collection held by my Department provides data only on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) by age group, sex, ethnicity and main offence group. Aggregated data, collected centrally from the 43 police force areas in England and Wales, do not record the age details of the victim of a crime for which an offender is arrested. The available information is given in table A.
	Detention in a young offenders institution is applicable only to persons aged 18 to 20. Detention and training orders are available as are sentences for detention of juveniles for murder and certain other serious crimes and detention for public protection/extended sentences. These are shown in table B for all indictable offences of violence against the person, by sex and the age groups requested, together with persons aged 10, and a total of all persons aged under 18.
	The number of males and females aged 10, 11 to 13 years, 14 to 16 years and under 18 who have received a reprimand or final warning for violence against the person offences, in England and Wales, 2004 and 2005 is shown in the following table. The section of the Crime and Disorder Act that removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings came into force nationally on 1 June 2000.
	The number of males and females aged 10, 11 to 13 years, 14 to 16 years and under 18 whose charges were dismissed in the magistrates courts or who were acquitted in the crown courts for violence against the person offences in England and Wales in 2004 and 2005 is also shown in the table.
	My Department is not able to determine the age of the victim; the data supplied are for victims of all ages.
	
		
			  Table A: The number of juveniles (aged 10 to 17) arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) within the offence group of violence against the person, by sex and period, England and Wales 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			 2003-04 48,500 15,100 63,600 
			 2004-05 57,200 19,400 76,600 
			  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.   Source:  RDS-OCJR, Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Juveniles sentenced( 1)  to immediate custody for offences of violence against the person, England and Wales, 2004 and 2005 
			Detention and training order  S90-92 PCC(S) Act 2000( 2)  Detention for public protection/extended sentence( 3)  Total immediate custody 
			  Age/age group  Sex  2004  2005  2004  2005  2004  2005  2004  2005 
			 Age 10 Male — — — 2 * 1 — 3 
			  Female — — — 1 * — — 1 
			  Total — — — 3 * 1 — 4 
			   
			 Age 11 to 13 Male 11 12 — — * — 11 12 
			  Female 3 6 — — * — 3 6 
			  Total 14 18 — — * — 14 18 
			   
			 Age 14 to 16 Male 348 368 56 56 * 7 404 431 
			  Female 59 59 6 9 * 3 65 71 
			  Total 407 427 62 65 * 10 469 502 
			   
			 Age 17 Male 364 391 78 63 * 14 442 468 
			  Female 32 36 2 6 * 3 34 45 
			  Total 396 427 80 69 * 17 476 513 
			   
			 All juveniles Male 723 771 134 121 * 22 857 914 
			  Female 94 101 8 16 * 6 102 123 
			  Total 817 872 142 137 * 28 959 1,037 
			 (1) Principal offence basis.  (2) Detention of juveniles for murder and certain other serious crimes under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000.  (3) Under sections 226 and 228 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (came into force in April 2005).   Note:  These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.   Source:  RDS-NOMS. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table C: Number of reprimands and final warnings issued to males and females aged 10 to 17 for violence against the person offences, and the number whose charge was dismissed at the magistrates court and acquitted at the Crown court in England and Wales, 2004 and 2005( 1, 2, 3) 
			   2004  2005 
			  Age and Sex  Reprimands and final warnings( 3)  Charge dismissed  Acquitted  Reprimands and final warnings( 3)  Charge dismissed  Acquitted 
			  Male   
			 10 162 0 1 210 1 0 
			 11 to 13 2,336 37 8 2,961 23 6 
			 14 to 16 5,782 269 98 6,785 302 88 
			 17 1,590 163 109 1,773 187 98 
			 Total under 18 9,870 469 216 11,729 513 192 
			
			  Female   
			 10 23 0 0 19 0 1 
			 11 to 13 868 2 2 1,156 3 3 
			 14 to 16 2,412 59 26 3,060 56 21 
			 17 444 24 10 580 15 11 
			 Total under 18 3,747 85 38 4,815 74 36 
			
			  Male and Female   
			 10 185 0 1 229 1 1 
			 11 to 13 3,204 39 10 4,117 26 9 
			 14 to 16 8,194 328 124 9,845 358 109 
			 17 2,034 187 119 2,353 202 109 
			 Total under 18 13,617 554 254 16,544 587 228 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) The section of the Crime and Disorder Act that removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and final warnings came into force nationally from 1 June 2000. The data provided in the above table are for reprimands and final warnings, as simple cautions can no longer be issued to people under 18.   Source:  RDS-OCJR, Ministry of Justice.

Departments: Accountancy

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many auditors are employed within the internal audit department of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: There are 64 full and part-time auditors employed in the Ministry of Justice (62.15 full-time equivalent posts).
	These have responsibility for MoJ Central, HM Courts Service, Tribunals Service, Office of the Public Guardian, National Offenders Management Service, Youth Justice Board, Office of Criminal Justice Reform, Wales Office, Scotland Office, Judicial Appointments Commission and other offices within the MoJ family.
	They do not cover the Legal Services Commission or HM Prison Service, which have their own separate audit units. The LSC employs eight internal auditors and HMPS 16 internal auditors.

Departments: Public Participation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many citizens' juries were arranged by his Department since June 2007; which organisations have been commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the estimated cost is of each exercise.

Michael Wills: My Department has not arranged any citizens' juries since June 2007.

Parole

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were detained as a consequence of breaching release licensing conditions at each prison establishment in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Information on the numbers of prisoners detained as a consequence of breaching their licensing conditions by prison establishment in England and Wales can be found in the following table.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Recall prison population by month, from August 2006 to August 2007, by establishmen t( 1) 
			   Recall population by establishmen t( 1) 
			   2006  2007 
			   Aug  Sept  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug 
			 Total recall population 4,313 4,411 4,550 4,724 4,711 4,963 4,974 4,930 5,027 5,104 5,105 5,253 5,317 
			 Altcourse 69 70 69 73 65 73 78 71 77 82 79 96 106 
			 Acklington 83 81 75 85 87 97 105 101 102 114 112 117 126 
			 Bristol 56 61 69 68 75 80 73 70 67 73 83 73 74 
			 Birmingham 158 152 140 137 132 137 135 125 132 143 148 174 153 
			 Bullingdon 67 72 71 83 80 80 69 69 71 76 71 72 73 
			 Blakenhurst 86 81 85 90 80 84 80 83 77 80 80 80 94 
			 Channings Wood 55 52 57 54 62 64 67 73 66 71 60 59 63 
			 Dartmoor 66 62 64 67 68 79 75 70 70 77 78 77 81 
			 Durham 75 84 102 92 84 98 92 103 103 126 116 118 100 
			 Doncaster 95 115 120 115 129 133 132 113 109 107 99 105 98 
			 Elmley 69 66 64 69 66 68 67 66 75 77 69 78 86 
			 Forest Bank 115 133 129 121 126 130 129 126 126 133 131 169 138 
			 Holme House 74 67 82 87 82 93 100 95 101 96 93 101 101 
			 Hull 101 114 102 107 113 122 115 101 101 123 120 125 114 
			 Leeds 122 129 125 138 118 116 99 106 116 117 106 115 125 
			 Lincoln 65 61 55 59 55 50 74 60 70 87 107 133 118 
			 Liverpool 91 89 99 92 113 105 100 101 116 123 120 117 115 
			 Littlehey 71 71 71 67 68 70 71 71 62 61 63 66 70 
			 Manchester 82 87 84 69 61 74 96 100 108 105 97 90 104 
			 Nottingham 68 62 63 71 82 67 61 65 51 78 84 88 83 
			 Preston 51 54 51 72 74 72 79 63 59 59 58 61 61 
			 Parc 88 79 74 87 85 90 90 95 87 99 95 101 89 
			 Ranby 74 68 74 74 69 77 78 86 87 90 88 75 76 
			 Risley 53 54 63 69 78 82 80 86 86 88 83 81 82 
			 Stafford 63 61 62 65 68 73 75 76 76 79 79 79 82 
			 Wymott 64 67 80 80 89 92 91 94 101 105 109 114 112 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 65 80 65 64 62 64 61 61 82 83 71 61 67 
			 Whatton 87 89 99 103 106 109 101 98 95 97 106 104 106 
			 Wandsworth 78 67 62 65 73 88 87 87 80 104 99 106 110 
			 (1) Total recall population includes all establishments however the breakdown only includes those establishments with 50 or more recallees in each month.

Police Custody: Wales

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for how much  (a) South Wales police,  (b) Gwent police,  (c) Dyfed Powys police and  (d) North Wales police have invoiced his Department to cover costs incurred under Operation Safeguard since 31 March; what the dates of those invoices were; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following table provides the dates covered and amounts paid in respect of invoices submitted by Gwent and Dyfed Powys police forces to cover costs incurred under Operation Safeguard since 31 March. We have not received any invoices from South Wales or North Wales police forces since 31 March 2007.
	
		
			  Police force  Dates covered  Total 
			 Gwent 25 June to 30 June 2007 11,906 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 14 May to 31 May 2007 298,663 
			  1 June to 30 June 2007  
			  1 April to 14 May 2007  
			  1 July to 23 July 2007

Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many places are planned to become available at each prison establishment through the opening of  (a) existing, but non-functional, and  (b) new wings; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There is a planned rolling programme of refurbishment of accommodation across the prison estate. This allows the critical maintenance of the estate to be undertaken whilst having no significant net change on the number of places in use.
	Over 1,100 new prison places have been delivered this year to date. This includes the conversion of a former secure hospital to a prison, Kennet, and expansions at the following prisons:
	Lowdham Grange
	Featherstone
	Garth
	Channings Wood
	Altcourse
	The Mount
	Stocken
	Planning permission has been granted for around 4,300 places at the following sites:
	Acklington
	Belmarsh East (new cluster prison on existing Belmarsh site)
	Brinsford
	Bullingdon
	Coldingley
	Dovegate
	Haverigg
	Highdown
	Hindley
	Lewes
	Lindholme
	Long Lartin
	Maghull (new prison in Merseyside)
	Nottingham
	Parc
	Portland
	Rochester
	The locations of the remaining places to be delivered as part of the new capacity building programmes are still subject to final decisions.

Prison Accommodation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cells in the prison estate are not in use; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: At the end of September there were 1,650 places out of use in the prison estate to allow critical maintenance to be undertaken. These places may be located in single cells, double cells or shared rooms. This information is published monthly on the Prison Service website.

Prison Accommodation: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 12 September 2007,  Official Report, column 2095W, on prison accommodation: Wales, if he will list the potential sites in Wales which are being investigated as possible sites for new prison development.

David Hanson: The publication of potential sites at this stage of the process would lead to unnecessary speculation as most will eventually be discounted once the investigations have been completed. A shortlist of sites will be published once all of the site investigations have been assessed.

Prison Service: Disciplinary Proceedings

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff are suspended from duty within HM Prison Service; what estimate he has made of the cost of these suspensions; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The public sector Prison Service does not currently hold detailed central records of all staff suspensions. This information is recorded at a local level. The Service does, however, monitor suspensions which have exceeded three months' duration and has done so since March 2006.
	Detailed records of all suspensions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service: Disciplinary Proceedings

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the longest period is for which a member of staff of HM Prison Service has been suspended  (a) at the current time and  (b) at any time; what the estimated cost is of such suspensions; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: In the public sector Prison Service, details of long-term suspensions have only been collated centrally since March 2006. Establishments and groups submit records of long term suspensions to headquarters on a monthly basis. According to September's records, the longest period for which a member of staff has been suspended at the current time is 518 days. In this particular case, the internal investigation was delayed pending the outcome of criminal proceedings. The estimated salary cost associated with this suspension is £45,000.
	Historical data are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service: Pay

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much was spent on special bonus payments to staff in the Prison Service between 1 April and 30 September;
	(2)  which Prison Service workplaces made special bonus payments to staff between 1 April and 30 September; how many staff at each workplace of each  (a) sex,  (b) grade and  (c) ethnicity received payments; and what the nature was of the work undertaken to attract each payment.

David Hanson: Figures for the current financial year are not available. However, the data requested that relate to last year are shown in the following tables. The specific reason for each award is not recorded.
	The total amount spent by the public sector Prison Service on special bonuses between 1 April and 30 September 2006 was £293,000.
	
		
			  Establishments recording special bonuses—1 April to 30 September 2006 
			   Staff receiving a special bonus( 1) 
			  Establishment  Male  Female  Total 
			 Acklington — 1 1 
			 Aylesbury 5 9 14 
			 Bedford 13 1 14 
			 Belmarsh 15 55 70 
			 Birmingham 5 2 7 
			 Blundeston 1 — 1 
			 Buckley Hall(2) — — — 
			 Bullingdon 8 4 12 
			 Bullwood Hall 2 — 2 
			 Camp Hill — 1 1 
			 Castington 1 2 3 
			 Channings Wood 3 1 4 
			 Chelmsford 3 3 6 
			 Coldingley — 1 1 
			 Dartmoor 29 8 37 
			 Deerbolt 1 4 5 
			 Dorchester 1 1 2 
			 Durham 3 1 4 
			 Eastwood Park 7 20 27 
			 Erlestoke 2 2 4 
			 Everthorpe 11 12 23 
			 Featherstone 1 — 1 
			 Feltham 12 2 14 
			 Frankland 5 2 7 
			 Full Sutton 1 — 1 
			 Garth 2 2 4 
			 Gartree 1 2 3 
			 Gloucester — 1 1 
			 Grendon 6 4 10 
			 Haverigg 2 1 3 
			 Hewell Grange — 2 2 
			 Hindley 8 8 16 
			 Holloway 20 11 31 
			 Holme House 1 1 2 
			 HQ and area offices 28 40 68 
			 Hull — 1 1 
			 Huntercombe 38 19 57 
			 Kennet 1 1 2 
			 Lancaster 9 7 16 
			 Lancaster Farms 1 — 1 
			 Leyhill 3 5 8 
			 Lincoln 9 13 22 
			 Lindholme 1 — 1 
			 Liverpool — 1 1 
			 Long Lartin 1 5 6 
			 Low Newton 1 — 1 
			 Maidstone — 1 1 
			 Moorland 4 2 6 
			 Morton Hall 2 — 2 
			 North Sea Camp 1 — 1 
			 Northallerton — 1 1 
			 Norwich 5 5 10 
			 Nottingham 33 13 46 
			 Preston 1 1 2 
			 Ranby(2) — — — 
			 Reading 19 16 35 
			 Risley 1 — 1 
			 Shepton Mallet 1 1 2 
			 Standford Hill 1 — 1 
			 Stocken 1 — 1 
			 Styal 2 3 5 
			 Sudbury 1 — 1 
			 The Mount 11 3 14 
			 The Verne 2 — 2 
			 Thorn Cross 4 — 4 
			 Usk/Prescoed 5 — 5 
			 Wakefield 3 1 4 
			 Wandsworth 1 — 1 
			 Warren Hill 1 1 2 
			 Wealstun 1 — 1 
			 Werrington — 1 1 
			 Whatton 12 5 17 
			 Winchester 6 3 9 
			 Woodhill 3 — 3 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 10 6 16 
			 Wymott 18 9 27 
			 Total 410 328 738 
			 (1) Recording problems are known to exist whereby some payments to staff are incorrectly coded as special bonuses. (2) Reliable information on the number of payments is not available for these sites.

Prison Service: Vacancies

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice by how many staff each prison establishment is short of full staffing levels; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Information on how many staff of all grades each establishment was short of its staffing requirement on 30 September 2007 is shown in the table. However, the emphasis within the Prison Service is on operational staffing where the overall shortfall is 1.5 per cent.
	
		
			  Public sector establishments 
			   Shortfall from full staffing( 1) 
			  Prison name  Number  Percentage 
			 Acklington 0 0 
			 Albany 3 1 
			 Ashwell 15 5 
			 Askham Grange 0 0 
			 Aylesbury 23 7 
			 Bedford 5 2 
			 Belmarsh 48 5 
			 Birmingham 49 6 
			 Blakenhurst 14 3 
			 Blantyre House 0 0 
			 Blundeston 2 1 
			 Brinsford 0 0 
			 Bristol 0 0 
			 Brixton 36 9 
			 Brockhill 8 5 
			 Buckley Hall 2 1 
			 Bullingdon 17 3 
			 Bullwood Hall 10 6 
			 Camp Hill 0 0 
			 Canterbury 12 6 
			 Cardiff 7 2 
			 Castington 9 2 
			 Channings Wood 0 0 
			 Chelmsford 17 4 
			 Coldingley 1 0 
			 Cookham Wood /ESP 14 6 
			 Dartmoor 9 3 
			 Deerbolt 0 0 
			 Dorchester 14 7 
			 Dover 0 0 
			 Downview 18 7 
			 Drake Hall 10 5 
			 Durham 17 3 
			 Eastwood Park 31 10 
			 Edmunds Hill 9 4 
			 Elmley 2 1 
			 Erlestoke 21 9 
			 Everthorpe 17 5 
			 Exeter 9 3 
			 Featherstone 17 5 
			 Feltham 45 5 
			 Ford 17 8 
			 Foston Hall 26 8 
			 Frankland 53 5 
			 Full Sutton 0 0 
			 Garth 16 3 
			 Gartree 15 3 
			 Glen Parva 22 4 
			 Gloucester 11 5 
			 Grendon 0 0 
			 Guys Marsh 14 5 
			 Haslar 7 6 
			 Haverigg 19 5 
			 Hewell Grange 0 0 
			 High Down(2) 75 14 
			 Highpoint 36 8 
			 Hindley 5 1 
			 Hollesley Bay 8 5 
			 Holloway 45 8 
			 Holme House 4 1 
			 Hull 12 2 
			 Huntercombe 4 1 
			 Kennet(3) 74 24 
			 Kingston 3 2 
			 Kirkham 13 5 
			 Kirklevington Grange 0 0 
			 Lancaster 0 0 
			 Lancaster Farms 12 3 
			 Latchmere House(4) 12 13 
			 Leeds 6 1 
			 Leicester 8 3 
			 Lewes 9 3 
			 Leyhill 14 6 
			 Lincoln 4 1 
			 Lindholme 0 0 
			 Littlehey 8 2 
			 Liverpool 19 3 
			 Long Lartin 0 0 
			 Low Newton 3 1 
			 Maidstone 28 8 
			 Manchester 46 5 
			 Moorland 4 1 
			 Morton Hall 1 1 
			 New Hall 0 0 
			 North Sea Camp 5 4 
			 Northallerton 1 1 
			 Norwich 1 0 
			 Nottingham 10 2 
			 Onley 4 1 
			 Parkhurst 8 2 
			 Pentonville 21 3 
			 Portland 0 0 
			 Preston 0 0 
			 Ranby 14 3 
			 Reading 7 3 
			 Risley 20 4 
			 Rochester 0 0 
			 Send 9 5 
			 Shepton Mallet 5 3 
			 Shrewsbury 3 2 
			 Stafford 7 2 
			 Standford Hill 21 10 
			 Stocken 38 9 
			 Stoke Heath 0 0 
			 Styal 0 0 
			 Sudbury 9 5 
			 Swaleside 7 2 
			 Swansea 15 5 
			 Swinfen Hall 24 6 
			 The Mount 15 4 
			 The Verne 2 1 
			 Thorn Cross 0 0 
			 Usk/Prescoed 17 7 
			 Wakefield 47 6 
			 Wandsworth 48 7 
			 Warren Hill 3 1 
			 Wayland 0 0 
			 Wealstun 9 2 
			 Wellingborough 24 7 
			 Werrington 10 6 
			 Wetherby 9 3 
			 Whatton 33 7 
			 Whitemoor 67 8 
			 Winchester 7 2 
			 Woodhill 66 9 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 19 3 
			 Wymott 10 2 
			 (1) Shortfall of staffing availability, including the contribution of officers working contracted supplementary hours against operational staffing requirement. (2) Includes staffing requirement for new accommodation in the process of recruiting (3) Newly opened prison, staff building up. (4) Developing new staffing profile and in process of recruiting 
		
	
	
		
			  Contracted Prisons 
			  Prison (provider)  Shortfall as at 30 September 2007 
			 Altcourse (GSL) 28 
			 Ashfield (Serco) 9 
			 Bronzefield (Kalyx) 0 
			 Doncaster (Serco) 50 
			 Dovegate (Serco) 46 
			 Forest Bank (Kalyx) 15 
			 Lowdham Grange (Serco) 28 
			 Parc (G4S) 2 
			 Peterborough (Kalyx) 10 
			 Rye Hill (GSL) 5 
			 Wolds (GSL) 1

Prisoners Transfers

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average cost of transferring a prisoner between prisons was in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The average cost of moving an individual prisoner between prisons in 2006-07 was £102.79 exclusive of VAT charges as recorded by the Inter-Prison Transfer contractor. However, there are a number of locally managed prisoner movements between prisons that do not have a centrally recorded cost.

Prisoners Transfers

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were transferred between prisons during their sentence  (a) in each of the last 12 months and  (b) in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The following table shows the monthly number of prison to prison transfers of individual prisoners in England and Wales, recorded by the Inter-Prison Transfer contractor, in each financial year from 2002-03 to 2006-07.
	
		
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 April 6,178 5,558 5,799 5,567 5,071 
			 May 6,322 5,929 5,323 5,639 5,957 
			 June 5,163 6,053 6,153 6,078 6,152 
			 July 6,629 6,851 5,918 5,617 5,927 
			 August 6,317 6,148 5,547 5,978 6,487 
			 September 5,969 6,417 6,223 5,950 6,461 
			 October 6,358 6,721 5,456 5,838 6,396 
			 November 6,090 5,705 6,080 5,909 6,193 
			 December 4,542 4,720 4,879 4,612 4,988 
			 January 5,644 6,319 5,737 5,824 6,484 
			 February 5,610 5,757 5,851 5,744 5,596 
			 March 6,322 6,568 5,674 5,674 6,100 
			 Total 71,145 72,746 68,638 68,430 71,812 
		
	
	There are also a number of locally managed prisoner movements between prisons that are not reported centrally.

Prisoners: Exservicemen

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners  (a) detained on remand and  (b) serving a custodial sentence were previously members of the armed forces in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Data from nationally representative surveys of some 2,000 sentenced prisoners near release conducted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 show the proportion of prisoners who had previously served in the armed forces as 6 per cent., 4 per cent. and 5 per cent. respectively.

Reparation by Offenders

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the contribution that structured volunteering can make to restorative justice; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: No specific, formal assessment has been made of the contribution that volunteering can make to restorative justice but we encourage partnership working in this area and many restorative justice schemes engage the services of the voluntary sector. For example, Youth Offending Panels are made up of trained volunteers from the local community and design intervention programmes for juveniles referred from youth courts. A number of voluntary sector providers are partners in schemes delivering adult restorative justice and there are local initiatives such as the Chard and Ilminster Community Justice Panel, which is made up of local, trained volunteers and uses restorative justice processes to deliver Acceptable Behaviour Contracts for cases involving minor offences that do not go to court.
	The main restorative justice voluntary sector and practitioner organisations were among those who helped to develop "Best Practice Guidance for Restorative Justice Practitioners", which was published by the Home Office in December 2004 and now forms the basis of National Occupational Standards.

Statute Law: Reform

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what response he has made to the Law Commission's recommendations for reform of limitation periods;
	(2)  when he intends to publish a Bill containing provisions relating to reform of limitation periods.

Bridget Prentice: In July 2002, the Government accepted the Law Commission's recommendations to reform the law of limitation in principle, subject to further consideration of certain aspects. In January 2007, the Government announced their intention to consult in spring 2007 on the detailed content of a draft Bill to implement these recommendations.
	It has not yet been possible to complete the detailed examination of the impact of the proposals. The Government will publish proposals for consultation as soon as possible after this work is complete. We expect this to be early in 2008.

Sudbury Prison: Prisoner Escapes

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inmates have absconded from Sudbury open prison since the beginning of the year; how many of these were convicted murderers; and what further steps he is taking to ensure that persons sent to prison remain in custody.

David Hanson: The information requested is being collated and I will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

Young People: Speed Dating

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what organisation was commissioned to run the speed dating youth conference on 9 October 2007.

Bridget Prentice: Solent Peoples theatre was commissioned to run the political speed dating at "Your Voice Counts"—the Ministry of Justice's Youth conference on 9 October 2007.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Voluntary Work: Young People

Andrew Miller: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to increase opportunities for young people to undertake voluntary work.

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is taking to encourage more young people to volunteer.

Phil Hope: In May 2006 the youth volunteering charity v was launched with government funding. v has the lead in delivering quality, quantity and diversity of volunteering opportunities for young people aged 16-25 in England. To date, v has commissioned 200,000 youth volunteering opportunities for young people.

Social Exclusion

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will take steps to ensure that the public service agreement for social exclusion supports socially excluded adults with mental health problems.

Gillian Merron: Helping more of the most excluded adults, including those with serious mental health problems, to obtain a job as well as a home is a key priority across Government through the Socially Excluded Adults public service agreement.

Social Exclusion

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent progress has been made on raising the aspirations of the most socially excluded adults.

Gillian Merron: The new social exclusion public service agreement and adults facing chronic exclusion pilots will help socially excluded adults get back onto the path to success and meet their aspirations by ensuring access to personalised services.

Community Organisations

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to support the work of small community organisations.

Phil Hope: Small community organisations are an essential part of a strong local voluntary sector and thriving communities. Support for their work is a key priority for the Government.
	The Office of the Third Sector has created the £30 million Community Assets Fund which will to help community groups to take on the management or ownership of assets. It is also introducing a new £80 million programme of small grants for small community and voluntary organisations, and a £50 million programme of endowment grants to help local foundations to provide an enduring source of funding.

Voluntary Sector

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the role of voluntary sector organisations in the delivery of public services.

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the role of voluntary sector organisations in the delivery of public services.

Phil Hope: Voluntary organisations have an important role to play in the design, development and delivery of public services. Public services are able to improve further by fully drawing on the understanding, experience, innovation and flexibility of the third sector. The involvement of voluntary organisations is a key part of the Government's desire to transform the delivery of services.

Voluntary Sector

Greg Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Compact on relations between Government and the voluntary and community sector.

Phil Hope: Since this Government agreed the Compact with the sector in 1998, it has been assessed annually through a joint review meeting The review meeting reports on progress and agrees a joint action plan for the forthcoming year. This plan is signed off by both the government and the sector. Through the annual review meeting, consensus has been reached on further measures to strengthen the Compact such as the establishment of a Commission for the Compact in 2005. The Third Sector Review which was published in July 2007 renewed the commitment to the Compact and asked the Office of the Third Sector to work with the Commission and the sector in reviewing the Compact to further strengthen the partnership.

Social Enterprise

Tom Levitt: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps the Government are taking to promote social enterprise.

Phil Hope: The Government set out its approach to supporting social enterprise in the Social Enterprise Action Plan, published on 16 November 2006. This includes a commitment to work closely with the sector to foster a culture of social enterprise, helping more people to understand social enterprise and raising awareness among potential social entrepreneurs, customers, investors and support providers. Three key elements of this work are:
	Developing a programme, run by the sector, to support 25 social enterprise ambassadors to use their personal stories to raise the profile of social enterprise.
	Supporting the Make Your Mark: Change Lives campaign to encourage young people to use enterprising ideas for social or environmental change. This includes Social Enterprise Day on 15 November which will see events taking place across the country.
	Sponsoring the annual enterprising solutions awards which celebrate the achievements of the best social enterprises.

Departments: Aviation

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 530W, on departments: aviation, how much was spent on non-ministerial flights in  (a) first class and  (b) business class in the last six months.

Edward Miliband: The information is only available at disproportionate cost.
	All travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

Departments: Furniture

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by the Cabinet Office on acquiring furniture in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07.

Gillian Merron: The available information on how much was spent by the Cabinet Office on acquiring furniture in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2006-07 is shown in the table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 450,922 
			 2006-07 292,111 
		
	
	A significant portion of the expenditure in 2005-06 was spent on replacing existing furniture to meet health and safety requirements.

Departments: Manpower

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what percentage of employees in  (a) his Department and  (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age.

Gillian Merron: The Cabinet Office currently has:
	Six employees (0.4 per cent. of all staff) who are above the statutory retirement age of 65; and
	22 employees (1.6 per cent. of all staff) who are above the state pension age of 65 for men and 60 for women.
	The Cabinet Office does not have responsibility for or fund any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies.

Departments: Recruitment

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will bring forward proposals to allow contractors employed by his Department to apply for internal job vacancies advertised within his Department; what recent representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Cabinet Office has not received any recent representations on this issue. Recruitment into the civil service is governed by the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Code (the Code).
	www.civilservicecommissioners.gov.uk
	Internal vacancies are open only to serving civil servants and employees of those non departmental public bodies approved by the Civil Service Commissioners as having followed recruitment practices that are consistent with the code. There are currently no plans to amend the code in this regard.

Departments: Road Traffic Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was.

Gillian Merron: The Cabinet Office only has one vehicle and has not had any fixed penalty tickets in the last year.
	Other vehicles are provided by Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) and our facilities management (FM) provider. Our FM provider has had a total of two tickets in the last year. These were paid by the FM provider and there was no cost to the Cabinet Office. In respect of GCDA provided vehicles, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by Secretary of State for Transport on 18 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 1185-86W.

Departments: Secondment

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are seconded to the Cabinet Office from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Secretary in the Leader of the House of Commons on 18 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1182W.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Gillian Merron: All Cabinet Office expenditure on away days is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and other HM Treasury guidance.
	Details of how much the Cabinet Office spent on away days and communication training in the last 12 months is not held centrally and therefore this information is available only at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department on  (a) staff training and  (b) communication training in the last 12 months.

Gillian Merron: The Department spent £2,137,000 on staff training during the 2006-07 financial year, which includes communication training.
	The Cabinet Office is committed to staff training which addresses both the identified needs of staff to achieve continued development in line with Professional Skills for Government, and ensures value for money.

Devolution: Codes of Practice

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions there were between Government Ministers and Ministers of devolved Administrations on the preparation of the Ministerial Codes of those Administrations.

Edward Miliband: Preparation of guidance documents for the devolved Administrations, including the Ministerial Codes of those Administrations, is a matter for the Administrations themselves.
	Detail of Ministers' contact with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There has been no contact between Cabinet Office Ministers and Ministers in the devolved Administrations about the preparation of their Ministerial Codes.

Experience Corps

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Experience Corps has paid any fees to the Government with regard to assets accumulated during or as a result of its period of grant funding by the Home Office.

Phil Hope: The Government provided funding to Experience Corps between 2001 and 2004. From the information available Experience Corps has not paid any fees to the Government with regard to assets accumulated during or as a result of its period of grant funding by the Home Office.
	Since March 2004, the programme has continued to run independent of Government funding.

Government Communication Network

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library copies of the guidance documents the Government Communication Network has issued to staff in departments in the last three months.

Gillian Merron: The Government Communication Network (GCN) is a virtual organisation and does not issue guidance. The Government Communication team within Cabinet Office which supports the GCN has not issued any guidance to the network in the last three months.

National Lottery: Grants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the National Lottery's Community Assets fund is in addition to the Community Buildings Programme.

Phil Hope: Community Assets is a programme of the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office, administered on its behalf by the Big Lottery Fund.
	The Community Buildings Programme is a three-year £50 million programme being funded from lottery money. The Community Assets Programme is not funded through the lottery and is a completely separate fund.

Official Residences: Ministers

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  which Ministers occupy the three official ministerial residences in Admiralty House; and on what date each moved in;
	(2)  which Minister occupies the ministerial office formerly occupied by the right hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Hull, East in 26 Whitehall.

Gillian Merron: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) and the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 17 October,  Official Report, column 1135W.

Prime Minister: Civil Servants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants have moved from the Treasury to work in No. 10 or the Prime Minister's offices since May 2007.

Gillian Merron: No. 10 Downing street and the Prime Minister's offices are part of the Cabinet Office. A total of nine members of staff have joined the Cabinet Office from Her Majesty's Treasury since May 2007.

Voluntary Organisations

Helen Southworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance has been given to local authorities and primary care trusts on practical aspects of commissioning of services from the voluntary sector, particularly on  (a) funding arrangements for a period longer than one financial year and  (b) agreeing common reporting mechanisms where more than one public body is commissioning or funding a service.

Phil Hope: The pre-Budget report, published in December, established the expectation that three-year funding would be passed on to third sector organisations as the norm rather than the exception and the comprehensive spending review allocated resources on this basis.
	Communities and Local Government will shortly publish for consultation Statutory Guidance on 'Strong and Prosperous Communities', which will include guidance on three-year grant funding in line with Government commitments on stable funding for the third sector.
	For PCTs, the Commissioning Framework for Health and Wellbeing sets out a vision for commissioning within the NHS that acknowledges the need for fair and open procurement and contractual processes which are proportionate, neutral between different types of providers, transparent on pricing and allows for longer term contracts where appropriate.
	'Guidance to Funders and Purchasers', published by HM Treasury in May 2006, draws together best practice in funding the third sector. It highlights the roles of common data standards and monitoring requirements and the use of 'lead funders' to reduce bureaucracy.

PRIME MINISTER

10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 15th October 2007,  Official Report, column 819W, on 10 Downing Street: official hospitality, for what reason he did not provide the information requested on  (a) hon. Members,  (b) former hon. Members and  (c) Peers who are not members of the Labour Party.

Gordon Brown: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 819W.

Departments: Road Traffic Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) today.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent by his Office on staff away days in the last 12 months.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) today.

Departments: Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister how much was spent by his Office on  (a) staff and  (b) communication training in the last 12 months.

Gordon Brown: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) today.

Members: Overseas Residence

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will bring forward legislation to exclude from membership of Parliament any individual who is not a UK resident for tax purposes.

Helen Goodman: I have been asked to reply.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice has confirmed to me that the Government have no plans to bring forward such legislation.

Tony Blair

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 1 October 2007,  Official Report, column 820W, on Tony Blair, for what reason he did not give the date of his last meeting with Tony Blair.

Gordon Brown: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, column 820W.